On
behalf of the Executive Committee, I am very pleased to welcome you to the 1997
Annual General Meeting of the Frankston Susono Friendship Association.
I
believe that the past year has been a very successful one for the Association.
Our Student Exchange Program has been successfully reinstated, with two
students, Hiroko Ninomiya and Ayona Oda from Susono now with us and our own
Christina Noonan is in Susono.
The
program is progressing very well and we look forward to its continued success.
Applications are currently being sought for the 1998 Program.
Our
English Teacher Program continues to flourish with both Joe Saunders and Kerry
Church being offered an extension to their current contracts. This is very
pleasing to the Executive as it shows that the Executive of Susono has the
confidence in our selection process and more Importantly the people that we as
an Association are sending to fill these most important positions.
Perhaps
the most significant of the year was
the 15th anniversary of the sister City relationship and the official opening of
our Friendship Garden Frankston High School
This
project has been ongoing for a number of years and it was I am sure very
pleasing for all those involved in the project that it has now been opened. The
opening ceremony was part of the 15 year Anniversary celebration and it was indeed
very appropriate that the opening could occur at this time as we were able to
host a delegation from Susono which included the Mayor of Susono Dr. Ohashi, to
share in the weekend of celebrations and festivities that were held to mark
this historic occasion for both Cities. It was truly a great weekend and
further developed the bond of friendship between the two Cities. A great time
was had by all!
During the
year our Cultural Fair was held for the first time at the Cultural Centre. Once
again this was a very successful venture and was well received by our
community. I am quite positive that by changing our venue to the Cultural
Centre, the Fair will continue to grow and become a very Important date on the
cultural calendar of the City of Frankston
During
the year Commissioners were replaced with elected representatives. Its is early
days for the new Councillors, but I hope that we will continue to receive their
support and that of the Council during their terms in office.
The
council has provided much support during the year. Kent Wingfield has been our
nominated administrative support and has done a great job for us taking our
minutes, circulating our newsletter and acting on our behalf as our liaison
with Council and Council Officers. Nothing has been too hard or too much
trouble for him. Thanks Kent
Our
Japanese Speech contest continues to blossom with the event again scheduled for
mid August this year. The Sub Committee is also looking at expanding this
contest into primary schools and hopefully that will occur a little later in
the year.
We
have also, with the enthusiasm and persistence of Phil Barber revamped our
Newsletter. Phil has done a great job with this project and I congratulate him
for it. It is no easy task to co-ordinate some 12 people to provide articles
for the Newsletter and Phil has done this in a very professional manner and I
hope he continues with it.
In
many ways this year has been a little easier than last. However, this only
occurs when you have an Executive that works together and shares the workload.
This has occurred this year and a number of our younger members have taken on
extra responsibilities and have performed these tasks exceptionally well. To
the whole Executive thank you for you support during the year and congratulations
for a job well done.
To
those Executive Members who have decided not to continue after tonight,
thank you for your support and involvement. The Association has benefited from your involvement. Whilst you may have
retired from office, I hope that you can continue to support the Association in
whatever way you possibly can.
In
closing, I believe that the Association has had a very successful year. We have
continued to develop awareness in the community of our existence, and the
opportunities that we provide for our community.
