Warm welcome to you all again and lovely to see you all here.

Many thanks to Mayor Nick Smith for coming along to speak with us all today. With your busy schedule it is very much appreciated.

This last week has given us a taste of what’s to come winter wise. Those winter energy payments will be a blessing for many.

The last year has been another busy one for your local branch as well as National Federation. A huge thank you to all our volunteers who cover the front desk, assist with getting our magazine out and helping with the Out and About membership renewal and drive. So far this year we have had larger number than usual renewing their membership early which is a good sign for our zone.

Your committee have been working hard on your behalf this year and a big thank you to them. If you would like to join us, meeting once a month then we would welcome you to come and help spread the load. At these meetings we discuss issues affecting you, our members.

Our Vice President Kevin is also on the Federation Board so we are lucky to have him. He handles the portfolio of Electricity. Remember that to be a member of Greypower Energy you must be a financial member. If not, your charges could well revert to normal. And remember if looking to change your supplier the Pulse Energy you find for comparison is not Greypower one. That is held confidential so you will need to call them for assistance.

We have committee attending A4A ( Accessibility for All) Pamela and Maureen, Housing (Nelson Tasman Housing Vulnerability Forum)Pamela and Maureen, Streets For People Working Group, Pamela, Submissions on Medicine Act 1981. Peter assisting our Federation Health person Jo Miller, Pat and myself attending meetings with Nelson Bays Primary Health and Nelson Marlborough District Health, finally getting numbers of seniors being discharged in early hours to go home alone reduced. We are watching closely the reduced number of beds that are planned for our new hospital. This with a growing city is a concern. We also have quarterly meetings with both Tasman and Nelson Mayors. Tasman still booked in but yet to get back into Mayor Nicks diary. Hopefully very soon.

Wonderful to see the sensor light has been installed on Stoke lights, extending crossing time for pedestrians. Nelson Greypower campaigned for this with our previous Mayor and CEO for the last 4 years.

I want to especially thank our new Treasurer Don Ambrose. He has done an amazing amount of work in bringing the branch up to date with everything. I think poor Kim, our Office Admin has gained a few grey hairs with keeping up.

We will be discussing membership increase as on agenda shortly and I will leave Don to explain this for you all.

Remember membership is from 50 +. If you have a family member celebrating their birthday, what about signing them up. The savings they can make from 50 to 65 is well worth it.

If you have something you would like us to look into for you, please call, email or drop in at the Stoke office.

Many thanks for all your support over the last year.

Sue Sara
President
Nelson Grey Power Association

2023

Welcome to you all.

Wonderful to see you all here under current RED ALERT.

What a year we have all been through.

To those who have lost family and friends, I extend my heartfelt sympathy to you. Covid has sadly ruled our lives and I feel it will continue to do so for some time yet. We must look out for each other. Sadly so many of our seniors have shut themselves away. Fearful to venture out. Frightened by the media and so concerned with surroundings. Attending a Webinar on Senior Mental Health recently, this was one of the things discussed. I hope that if you are aware of someone that is frightened of the current times we are in, please support them and talk with them.

Moving on to a more positive note, you are probably aware that we have successfully obtained Charity status. A huge thank you to Christine Tuffnell and Linda O’Dea for all their assistance in getting this started. To Christine, Thank you for answering my call for help when the papers kept coming for more and more answers. At times I felt overwhelmed with it all.

Applications are under way to obtain funding through relevant organisations. Mayor Reese is looking at sourcing funding for a defibrillator for the office.

Of a big concern is our current committee numbers. Or lack of them. We have a membership to the of March of 5668 members. Meetings are once a month for a couple of hours. We are in serious need of a Treasurer, thanks to George Truman for stepping back in to do our audit and budget for the next year.

We are facing an increase in Capitation Fees that will put a strain on our budget so funding where we can will be most important. We have not moved to raise membership this year, so where $16,000 will come from is a big ask.

I welcome Maureen to the committee. Great to have her aboard, but still happy to open our arms to a couple more.

Big thanks to Kim our office admin who negotiated a change from DX Mail back to NZ Post for our magazine resulting in a substantial saving. Every little helps.

This may have to be looked at in the future and maybe move to 6 monthly editions.

So what is Grey Power ?

Membership is open to those 50 and above. Not sure what to get the kids for Christmas. How about a membership to Grey Power. During the current fuel price hike, the discounts offered meant an all-important saving to so many.

Important to note that in joining at 50 you have 15 years of savings until receiving your Gold Card. Someone recently cancelled their membership because they said they could use their Gold Card at Mega 10. That’s fine, but little did they realise the discount is greater with Grey Power than Gold Card.

Increase in capitation fees comes after Kiwibank withdrew their sponsorship. We need to support our National Federation in their continued battle on our behalf in Parliament.

Our regular meetings with both council Mayors have continued when possible. These are all important in putting your concerns direct to those at the top. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if there is anything you feel needs addressing and would like answer to.

We still have our all-important Handyman List available to members. If you are a retired plumber, builder, painter etc and would like to make yourself available, please contact us with your details so we can add you to our list.

This had been a Grey Power Nelson initiative for many years now and something we are proud of.

Also remember to use your discount book when looking for a service or business.

Finally I wish to once again thank my committee for their continued support. At times the work load gets a bit over whelming but there is always someone nearby to bounce ideas off and get assistance.

Kevin, Vice President and National Board Member. Pamela, Secretary. Pat for your great help with regards health board meetings and to Maureen who has stepped into her portfolio running with her first meeting being by zoom. A whole new learning curve.

Last but by no means least, huge thanks to our office admin Kim. She is the one that keeps the office functioning. With ups and downs of Covid she has put in a lot of additional time.

And to the volunteers who give their time, I can’t thank you enough. Those few hours each day sitting at the front desk and be the face of Grey Power is so much appreciated Big thanks to you one and all.

Sue Sara
President
Nelson Grey Power Association

2022