Decision made, Wanganui RSA and Cosmopolitan Club will amalgamate

A large turnout of members showed up at the Wanganui RSA AGM on Sunday morning to cast their amalgamation vote. Photo / Stuart Munro

The members voted and the result was an overwhelming yes for the Wanganui Returned and Services Association and the Wanganui Cosmopolitan Club to amalgamate.

The two chartered clubs decided to join forces yesterday after the idea gained traction in late March when Clubs New Zealand held its annual meeting at the Whanganui War Memorial Centre.

President of the Wanganui Cosmopolitan Club Nancye Thomson said it was a big move, but it was the right one.

"We desperately need them, I think it is going to be a really positive thing because we just have too many clubs in Whanganui.

"A lot of questions were asked, but the vote was unanimous and we had a lot of members here."

President of the RSA Geoff Chowles said that the main question was about governance.
"We pointed out to members that it is about the two working parties getting together and putting together a memorandum of understanding on how we're going to go ahead," he said.

"Then they can draw up the contract between the two clubs."

Chowles said that the RSA vote was done by a show of hands and there were few objections.

"It was an overwhelming majority that wanted to amalgamate the club from the RSA side and as a result of that we also passed a resolution to put our building up for sale," he said.

"As a result, the first thing that's going to happen is, we're going to cut our operating and compliance costs in half."

For now both parties would be looking at putting together a working committee, which would be made up of four people from each club.

Another important matter to deal with would be choosing a name for the amalgamated clubs that will each keep their own identity with a club above them.

Chowles said amalgamating was absolutely necessary.

"When I first joined the RSA, I would have been dead against it."

"Having been a commitee member and vice president, having close contact with the figures and things like that, I knew that this had to happen."