One thing I miss

As someone of a certain age, I read Karl du Fresne’s ‘‘I remember …’’ (Jan 24) with interest. One in particular caught my eye – ‘‘. . . when young men in country towns belonged to Jaycees’’.

Sadly now no longer in existence in New Zealand, Jaycees was a training organisation for young men; it taught public speaking, debating, oratory, meeting procedure, project planning and management especially for community fundraising projects.

Many men of my vintage used these skills to good effect in later public life.

Napier Jaycees, to which I belonged, ran two major projects which earned national and international awards. The first was to invite Christiaan Barnard, the eminent South African surgeon who had just completed the first heart transplant, as guest speaker to a glittering fundraising dinner. Attended by over 1000 people, this dinner raised a large sum for the cardiac unit of the then Napier Hospital.

The second was to invite Princess Alexandra and her husband Angus Ogilvie to a royal ball. This event is considered by many to be the finest social occasion ever held in Napier and raised a large sum to help start the Princess Alexandra private hospital.

So while the demise of many of Karl’s list will not be missed, I for one do lament the passing of Jaycees. It taught us well.

David Marshall, Karori