The meeting confirmed a new association president as well.
Anaru Reedy will preside, with Simon Jeune vice-president.
Reedy takes over from George Brown, who had put his hand up over the past couple of years when no one else volunteered.
The new president's first job is to put the association back into the association.
With “no paperwork” done over the past few years, the association has been deregistered. The new Tairawhiti committee have started the process of regaining that status.
Reedy, one of the region's top players who last week won the senior title at the New Zealand vets tournament held on Poverty Bay's Awapuni Links course, said taking over the presidency was a matter of someone having to do it.
No names were put forward so Reedy stepped up and is delighted to have fellow Poverty Bay-East Coast masters representative Jeune as his deputy.
The name change was in the wind.
The district's clubs were contacted for their views and those who replied were unanimous in backing a change, Reedy said.
He had also spoken to several people and “the general feedback was it was time for a change”.
He expects it will take some time to ratify it, probably a few months. That will include rebranding and a new flag.
Reedy acknowledged there might be resistance from some — PBEC has been the region's men's and junior golfing identity for many decades — but said Tairawhiti fitted in well with the district's identity transformation in recent times.
(Women's rep golf has been part of Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay for many decades)
Jeune, a long-time and highly respected senior and masters representative, said PBEC golf faced a decision. Either get proactive or disband.
Amalgamating Poverty Bay-East Coast with Hawke's Bay at men's representative level had been discussed regularly in the past.
With no “voice” at national level, the door for that to go ahead would be well and truly open if the issue was raised again.
It was vital the Tairawhiti association re-engaged with NZ Golf and was proactive, “not reactive”, Jeune said.
This was equally important at club level.
The new committee was keen to re-establish a strong relationship with clubs in promotion of the game, he said.
It was already looking at lifting the professionalism and competitiveness of such events as the Oligoi Jug men's interclub.
Jeune said to succeed they had to be united.
In Reedy they had a president whose “heart was in the right place” and was committed to progressing the game, but ultimately it was about having a committee who were all-in and committed to re-energising the association.
