In many ways, it has been a roller-coaster year for the Association. We started the year with all positions filled and ended the year with vacancies in the key positions of national treasurer, membership secretary and technical editor. We are now on the way up, with only one position needing to be filled. No more Disneyland rides please!

Mary Banks and I volunteered to pick up the membership secretary's and treasurer's functions respectively until replacements could be identified. This has not been without its challenges and stresses. On the other hand, it has provided us with the opportunity to rationalise the positions, the result being a treasurer that can focus on traditional treasurer's functions, and an expanded membership secretary's role that includes the membership functions previously managed by the treasurer.

I started the year with some clear objectives for the Association including:

• Improved communication with branches
• Improved financial performance
• Increased membership

I can report success with 2 of the objectives.

Mary has upgraded our provision of information, and I have sought feedback from branches on a range of issues. The North and South Island Vice Presidents, Diana and Jim, our Patron, Hazel Nicholls and myself as President, visited most branches during the year. This year we hope to visit the remainder. My thanks to branches for welcoming us into your homes, and enabling us to taste something of the flavour of local activities. There were some magical moments for us all.

Another plus for the year has been the establishment of a new NZTCA web site. Les Gruebner, Bay of Plenty Branch, is the site manager, and sees this year as a developmental one. Les would like to receive your ideas and suggestions for the site so that it becomes something that members use and "own".

It is also pleasing to note a turn around in our financial fortunes after two years of running a deficit. A key contributor to our financial health has been the reduction in the cost of the Tree Cropper.

And while I am on the subject of the Tree Cropper, I would like to thank the editor, Glenys Christian, for the excellent job she is doing. We are now back on to a three-monthly publication cycle, and we have seen an improvement in the quality of the journal. However, feedback from members indicates that we can do better, and that we should be including "meatier", technical articles. That is the challenge for 2002. I know that at times Glenys struggles to extract material from members. So those amongst you with a story to tell or a treecrop to describe, please put pen to paper and send your items to the editor.

While we can boast some very encouraging developments, it is disappointing to report a decline in our membership numbers. Branches have indicated to me a range of approaches to reverse this trend. Clearly, increasing membership must be a major focus for 2002 if we are to grow as an organisation dedicated to furthering the objectives of the Association. I see management committee and branch committees working in partnership to develop strategies (and implementing them) to promote the benefits and advantages of belonging to NZTCA.

The strength of the Association is in its branches. The range of activities being undertaken by members at local level is impressive. As an Association we have had our fair share of challenges that have raised fundamental issues around our role and what we stand for. Aoraki's challenge of the Timaru District Plan raises questions concerning the extent to which we should be supporting legal action. Auckland's excellent work (with Diana's support) in alerting politicians, officials and the horticulture industry to the impact of the Guava moth has raised questions around our role in supporting developmental and commercial activity. And we have seen plenty of less political, but nevertheless very worthwhile activity from the regions- Hawke's Bay's wonderful Tree Crops in Schools project; and the Walnut Action Group's success in securing funding for research into Walnut blight. I could go on.

Looking ahead to this year, I would like to see the Association, and Management Committee in particular, lifting its horizons beyond everyday functional, maintenance issues. I would like to see:

• Better support and facilitation of branch activity, especially for community and treecropping issues that have national significance, and for activity to do with promoting the Association
• A higher public profile for the organisation, and advocacy for issues that promote its objectives
• Developing strategies for improving the provision of technical information for members

I would like to end my report with a number of accolades:

• To Branch committees for their support for and commitment to meeting the treecropping needs of their members.
• To Diana Loader for her support for me and her enthusiasm and commitment to her North Island Vice President's role.
• To Roy Hart for his excellent work as research co-ordinator for the Association. A glance at the financial report indicates the enormous breadth of the treecrops he is working with, often with little support.
• To Judy Bool, publications officer, whose quiet efficiency must be acknowledged.
• To Gail Newcomb, technical editor, who has made an enormous contribution to the development of the Association's publications. "The Green Book" has been a major success.

I reserve my final words to acknowledge the work of Mary Banks. She is a special person who gives so much (too much?) of her time to ensure that the Association is run efficiently and well. But we need to look after her. A new national secretary is needed urgently so that she can focus her energies on the membership secretary's functions. Where are the volunteers?

I wish the organisers of this conference in Wanganui, the Central Districts Branch, every success. I am sure the conference will go well.

Ray Hollis

http://www.treecrops.org.nz/bydate/nat2002/presrep02.html
Created: 30/May/2002 - Updated: 2004 September 05