Nature of Things – January 2015

I hope you’ve had a good holiday break filled with tramping or other adventures. Certainly the weather in the Tararuas has looked amazing the past week or two! We’ve got some interesting-looking trips on the schedule in February, March and April so it’s a good time to be making good on that resolution to tramp more.

It may be the start of a new year but we’re also nearing the end of our WTMC year. Committee has set 1 April as the date for our Annual General Meeting, and at this meeting we vote on committee positions for the 2015/16 year. We are looking for people to fill some key roles, notably Chief Guide and Assistant Chief Guide. These roles guide the creation of our trip schedule and keep our trip-related functions ticking over. It’s really important that we fill them. If you have a little voice in the back of your mind saying ‘maybe I could do that’, then don’t hesitate! Talk to Mike Phethean or Debbie Buck about what the roles entail. They are not as difficult as you think, and there are a whole lot of other people who work with you to make things happen.

We are also looking for other people to come on committee, both to fill more general roles this year and with a view to picking up other roles in 2016/17. We will have a few experienced people come off committee next year, and it would be great to have some other people start thinking about those roles now. You don’t need to be experienced at tramping or even know the club particularly well (though obviously old hands are very welcome). Being on committee is a chance to give back to the club and it’s not necessarily that onerous! It’s also a chance to get to know a bunch of interesting people in a different way, and to make new friendships. I recommend it. Please chat to me if you are at all interested or email me at .

It’s really important that we spread the work of the club around widely. We’re a community, not a tour operator, and being part of this community means giving back. There are always jobs to do, big or small, on or off committee – from being on the door, to washing the vans, to proof reading documents or (most important!) leading trips. Just chat to me or someone on committee if you want to help out.

Happy summer tramping 🙂

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