SSAA NSW

Stronger, bigger, more financial & better managed! Well after 4 years in the President's chair, I am pleased to report that none of the predictions of the Doomsday Merchants have come true. SSAA NSW is stronger, bigger, more financial and better managed than ever. Stronger because we have a strong political voice with Robert Borsak MLC & Robert Brown MLC of the Shooters and Fishers Party in the NSW Parliament. What's more, their votes control the balance of power in the Legislative Council so the State Liberal Government needs their support on a daily basis. Di Melham and I are in constant contact with the Party and we have a first-class working relationship that continues to benefit our members. Of course, it's always a battle with a devious anti gun lobby and the fanatical Extreme Greens. But I can assure you our support for the Shooters and Fishers Party puts us in a great position to fight for our freedoms. I'm also predicting a great result for the party at the September Federal Election. We're bigger than ever with over 47,000 members and growing. Also, we are in the final stages of planning a new membership drive program that will run in regional towns and cities. The program will have advertising support on radio and in newspapers. Our Mobile Air Rifle Range will become a town focal point during the promotion and the local range will feature a Try Shooting Day. This new pilot program is being managed by Tim Horan from SSAA NSW Office. If this test is successful, we will pass our target of 50,000 well before the next AGM, making NSW the fastest growing SSAA state in Australia. We're more financial than ever! More members generate more membership fees, more range fees and more purchases from the St Marys Indoor Shooting Centre. Also, I must congratulate our Executive Director, Di Melham, and her finance team on the excellent management of our finances. SSAA NSW has never been in a better position which allows us to pursue expansion plans and innovations. We're better managed with a totally united Board. Your Directors come from all over the State, towns like West Wyalong, Narrabri, Coffs Harbour, Armidale and Southern Highlands. We now annually hold one Board meeting at a regional centre. Last year, we met at the new Armidale Range site and reviewed the incredible work being done by the hard-working volunteers. 2 These days it's not easy getting a large range up and running and Armidale has a real fight on its hands from the local extreme Greens. At this AGM there will be a vote for the new Constitutions. Your Board sincerely hopes they are adopted as SSAA NSW is under some pressure from NSW Department of Fair Trading to have our Constitutions in line with today's best practice. Over the last six months a lot of work has gone into this project with Di Melham and Lance Miller visiting Branches to help explain the background issues. I also want to thank Ricky Lee, our Lawyer, who has worked with our team to make sure these Constitutions, if approved, will take us into a very difficult and challenging future as we continue to grow. Also big news, the NSW Shooter is going digital (online only) this year and will have more news, stories, opinion pieces and features from around the State. Our newsletter will no longer be distributed with the national magazine. This will save SSAA NSW over $50,000 each year in printing and distribution costs. It also frees up the NSW Shooter to carry more political news from around the state and country. During the year, Di and I had some valuable help from members around the State. John Triggs helped us restart the Nowra Branch, Warren Brown and his Shotgun Trailer team continue to roam the State, the Hay Branch Shooting Complex is almost finished and the Macksville Range is now open thanks to much hard work by Dennis Rowe and his team. Also thanks to the Branches for attending the Constitution Meetings around the State. Senior Vice President, Mark Godwin, and Richard Drozdowski our Junior Vice are both shooters with full time careers but they make time at the drop of a hat to work tirelessly for your Association and I thank them for that. I hope your Branch and range do well in the coming 12 months and remember, the SSAA NSW Office team is there to serve you and help you build an even stronger, bigger and more financially successful SSAA NSW. Paul McNabb President SSAA (NSW) Inc. Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. LATEST NEWS

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