Chair of Operations Ardmore report for NZKC Annual Report Booklet 2008/9

Following a telephone call, last August, from Brian Priest on behalf of executive council, offering me the task of Chair of the new Operations Committee at the AEC, I set about meeting and talking to my fellow committee members prior to our first full meeting in September 2008, asking them to list their priorities for the operation of the Ardmore complex.

Our first task was to organize the Dog and Puppy of the Year shows, to be held in early November, the judges were organized and we had six weeks to prepare! With the capable assistance of that that well known Auckland personality, Dave Hill, we presented a successful show with Shona Prebble taking the top prize.

Two dates had been booked for Benefit shows in 2009 and we, or rather Jean McErlane set about the task of organizing the 101 items needed for a successful show and her report, for the two day March show was published in the April edition of Dog World. Needless to say preparations are well in hand for the June Benefit Show, as are preparations for Obedience Benefit shows in July and August, a new departure for the AEC.

Finance, or rather the lack of, has always been a problem with the AEC complex and in September a bombshell was dropped in our lap with a further invoice from the car park contractors. After protracted negotiations payment was made, but not without the assistance of a further loan from the Wellington Management Committee.

We are looking forward to a working bee planned for May when tree planting and rubbish removal are high on the list of priorities.

After only eight months in office, and with the co-operation of the Capital Projects Committee we believe that we are moving forward and seeing some fruits of our labours. We are seeing a greater degree of communications and assistance from both the local Council and the neighbors, something that seem to elude the previous committee.

Plans are well in hand for Dog and Puppy of the Year show in November and the Benefit shows in 2010. We are keen to carry on in our respective roles and continue to look to the future of the Auckland Exhibition Centre as not only a canine centre but also part of the local community.

Brian M Baker
Chair
Auckland Exhibition Centre
20th April 2009