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National Managers 2009 Annual ReportThe last 12 months been a proper year for me working not only with Neighbourhood Support at a more accepted and comfortable level but also across the board with a more intimate relationship with Police and three city councils - being Wellington, Marlborough and now Manukau. The organisation has come a long way. Board business is largely made up of issues that really do affect the present or future direction of the organisation. There is a more efficient method in getting information into and out of the Board environment. We have more information available to community members not only at a local level but also through our own national website. Individual visits to the national website have grown from 300 per month in early 2008 to an impressive 1500 per month by June 2009. This of course needs sustaining and I ask all delegates and their coordinators to help in this mission but it is a significant rise. We have accumulated 14 other Neighbourhood Support websites to provide links for interested parties and it is now accepted that NS groups contact me to have their website placed on our national equivalent. We are building collateral in the form of an Operational Guide and have been fortunate to gain a volunteer whose experience lends its hand so well to the production of a valuable tool. Across the organisation generally, I'd hazard a guess that we have a lot less money to utilise in delivering services. Nationally, our annual budget runs at a lesser figure than previous years, resource budget has been reduced by over 50% and costs rise, but there is still a recognisable impact out in the communities. How do we keep this up? That is for all of us to contribute to. Regular sharing of good practice, providing examples of successes, news stories and like-minded organisations (whether they are local councils or other partners). Showing that we are worthwhile and demonstrating our strength - yes - I do mean figures! All here know how they contribute and where they need to deliver a little more. Training has been a feature of the last 8 months and there has been a cross between success and disappointment. Congratulations to all who have managed to deliver something that is often put to one side as a "too hard to do". One of the big "hard to do's" is getting into the communities that somehow evade our clutches. That's another "can we do it" scenario. Looking at the Board today. I would say that we are striving to equip ourselves to meet this hard target head-on. I hope you would agree. You all have various reports from around the table, so I thought I'd save you all the trouble of looking over my reports too closely. In anticipation of The Chair asking for my top 5 points, I have listed my top 10 outcomes from the last 12 months - in no particular order:
Thanks for the support, anecdotes, good wishes and generally great banter and the like. I would like to acknowledge the support New Zealand Police provide - resource funds, manpower and other intangibles that make life that much easier for NS in general. Also - the support of both the Acting Chair Paul Miller, who has been a solid sounding post for my thoughts and plans and Paul Fitzharris, Patron, who has stepped in to support me when required and offers a good balanced view to assist us in our ever developing mode. I would also like to acknowledge Cathryn Warburton, Acacia Law, for the sterling efforts for both the transfer of rights and Trade Marking processes. Cathryn ensured we did not pay for services that could be completed by ourselves and when fees did apply, they were applied at a reduced rate in recognition of our community focus. Finally, I acknowledge all volunteers who commit to Neighbourhood Support to make their communities and New Zealand a better place to live. The pages for my next annual report are blank and the content of this report is now history. I trust that the next 12 months will bring us equally important further achievements. Roger Eynon 24th August 2009 |
