Page 137 - Friendships Through the Years

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PRESIDENT FRED HARDING: 1997 - 1998

President Harding

n Fred Harding’s own words, he was the “Reluctant President”. I quote from Fred’s
letter to the Author:
I
“To begin with, it was with considerable reluctance that I agreed, in the first
instance, to accept the position of Vice President, knowing full well that I was not
presidential material. Being one with somewhat of a retiring nature and never
having been in any sort of official capacity in the past, to me, at the age of 81, it
was a bit late in life to be assuming such a position. Fortunately, due to the very
strong support of such experienced campaigners as George Sank and Bert
Milgate, I was able to ‘muddle’ my way through, with more then a few ‘hiccups’
along the way. Also fortunately, on the whole, it was a fairly uneventful year, and
I gradually settled in, but never feeling completely at ease in the chair. I think the
only event of any consequence, was the situation that arose, necessitating the Club
having to seek an alternative venue. Fortunately, largely due to the efforts of
Martin Taylor and one or two other members, this was achieved without a great
deal of trouble. In many ways, I think the new premises are more suitable than the
previous venue, the main problem being the space limitations, possibly restricting
any great increase in membership. Sorry, Keith, that I am unable to impart a more