New Skal International Australia Committee appointed
At the recent Skal International Australia Annual General Meeting hosted by Skal International Sydney South, a New National Committee was elected with current National VP Peter Neilson being elected unopposed to National President.
Incumbent National VP Russell Butler and Past President of Skal Melbourne Mark Windsor were elected to the positions of National Vice President, with Russell taking on the responsibility of Membership Development, whilst Mark is responsible for Communication, PR & Travel.
Derek Hill was elected National Treasurer and long-time Skal stalwart Pierre Chaperon continues as National Secretary.
Outgoing National President Bob McGill was elected International Councillor as Skal Australia’s representative on the Skal International Council.
Skal International Vice President Phil Simms & International Director, Tony Boyle, plus Skal New Zealand National President Michael Macpherson were also in attendance to give the AGM an international flavour.
Discussions on closer co-operation between the Skal Clubs of Australia and New Zealand were high on the agenda, with International President Litsa Papathanassi who hails from the Greek Island of Rhodes, visiting both countries in September as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Skal New Zealand.
The AGM attracted delegates from all twenty one clubs, but was tinged with sadness as Skalleagues remembered the passing of the immediate past International Councillor, David Schrandt, who lost his battle with leukaemia recently.
The Skalleague of the year award has been renamed in his honour as has the pre AGM cocktail function. David’s wife Lyn and son David were on hand to congratulate Skalleague Murray Worthington from the Cairns Club, who was honoured with the inaugural David Schrandt Memorial Award.
Skal is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Its members, the industry’s managers and executives, meet at local, national, regional and international levels to discuss and pursue topics of common interest. If you are interested in joining Skal further information and listing of Australian and International clubs can be found at www.skal.org.au.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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