Suzette Meroiti

AS a financial member of the Whakaāne RSA, I attended the special meeting last week, called because of the approximately 30 members concerned about the dire financial predicament the club finds itself in.

I was there purely as an observer, sitting at the back of the room, with no bias/opinion either way.

My first thoughts were how dreary the place is. Outdated, dull and with no atmosphere.

Maybe the members like it this way. But as all these members, I would guess around 80-plus percent, would be over 60, when these members pass away, the gap of membership drops.

The doors close.

The club cannot rely solely on the gaming room for income. The gaming room has been shut because of an oversight in the licensing fees.

There appears to be no interest by most members to entice younger people through the door – people who have the means to spend on entertainment.

This age concern of members was brought up only once during the two-hour meeting, which also referred to the Ōhope Chartered Club, which is in a similar financial situation without a suitably qualified manager and an ageing membership.

One member brought up an option to sell one property in the club’s portfolio, which I thought was a very sound proposal.

Get the club out of the financial mess and perhaps spend some of that money on ripping the place apart and bringing it up to date. Then inject some life into the club to attract younger members.

Clubs also struggle because committees oversee a manager, (who usually has limited experience in the hospitality/entertainment industry) and who has to contend with whinging members, and some rightly so.

I do not patronise the RSA or the Ōhope Chartered Club as I see similar problems in both clubs.

Lack of desire and foresight for any change.

My opinion only.