Wow! What a night it was and congratulations to Gregory Moodie who set out to impress and he sure achieved the goal. Thank you Gregory for giving it your all as usual. The venue was great, the ambience of the room was fantastic, lighting and balloons had the special affect. Sue Lettmannn and Paul Graham, thank you so much, for greeting everyone and making them feel welcome right from the start.
It was so good to see so many people who attended from different groups. There were people from Spinners & Weavers, from the Table Tennis Group, and of course members of AAH and their friends. But the one thing that I felt that really stood out was the smile on everyone faces, I could tell from the beginning of the night, that everyone was out to Party and they did, just check out the video.
Through out the night, we had on the big screen a PowerPoint display that explained what AAH was about and also included many photos from different events that we have run in the past which I am sure that those who were not there would like to see and for those attendees who were there but were so busy partying that they did not have time to take in the presentation, then here it is again to view. View this 10 min plus video in your leisure.
Of course, we had to have some speeches, and Brian May our chairman led the way with a thank you to many people who had helped us to achieve the result of establishing AAH as a Not for Profit Company that we all can be proud of. It must be said that it is just the start of bigger things to come, as if we were climbing Mt Everest, we have just got to the base camp, and still have the mountain to climb, in achieving the goals to make AAH a great success in our communities. It was extremely nice of Brian to present to me this wonderful gift that I will certainly treasure for the rest of my life and remind me of the importance of AAH and what it is doing.
With the inscription Presented to Barry Osborne Proud Founder of AAH 2022. It has to be said, that I had the dream and the idea but there has been many people who have helped to make this happen and especially the many members who participate in the activities and social events. That is the stimulus and reward that makes me want to do more and keep building AAH. Without the members AAH is nothing.
In the speeches and presentation, there were some very important points about AAH made, which are:
AAH is a stimulus that Life is not coming to an end, it is just another stage in life, and there is much more life ahead of us to enjoy.
To enjoy this full ongoing life, we must ensure that we stay healthy, which will only be achieved by being ACTIVE.
But the scientific research is very clear, that to have a fulfilling life, the most essential component needs to be Socially Connected.
To be involved in this new found life, all of us have to fight the voices in our head that say things like "this is not for me"; "this is not my scene"; "I don't want to be apart"; "I will just stay at home"; or "I just want to play tennis". Then I say to you, change that thought to "I am going to give it a go". and you maybe pleasantly surprised that it brings you some great enjoyment and I am sure some important fun in your life.
One thing I did miss in saying in my speech was the joke about a 70 year old couple. The wife at the breakfast table says to her husband,
"Darling, what are you going to do today?
He responds by saying "Nothing"
She replies, "But didn't you do that yesterday".
He responds "Yes, but I didn't finish it."
It is a real shame that this couple had not joined AAH otherwise their answers would have been totally different with tennis 3 days per week, Pickleball once a week, dancing every Friday and dancing the night away with friends at AAH Social Events. To live life fully, we all need to get out of the homes and the last place we want to be is in a Retirement Village waiting for the ambulance with our name on it.
The important point was made that you should not need to ask yourself as to what do I get out of AAH by being a member, but more importantly what can I do for AAH. All members have their own list of skills and passions. AAH should harvest these, and build new activities, and members are able to share their skills and most importantly introduce that passion into the lives of other members. Example here is the Dancing group, Gregory Moodie does not do it for the money that is for sure, but you speak to him and he will tell you of the priceless rewards he receives from his experience with the class members and their appreciation of their newly developed skills. Not to mention, the FUN they are having.
Another consideration, following on from the point above about Retirement Villages, we need to be active participants within our communities and we need not to be segregated but being a part with other age groups. How much better has our tennis become because we include all ages of tennis players.
Life goes on and needs to be enjoyed. Live it to the full. But that will only occur if you are eager to be a part. Don't hold back, be a participant, the Gala Dinner was a fantastic night and I am sure the attendees would say to anyone that did not attend, they missed a special FUN night.
Well said Barry and thank you Brian for finding such an enjoyable venue. K