Friends forever
35 years of Rebus Wanganui!
Thirty-five years of social activities and companionship have been celebrated by Rebus Wanganui with an anniversary lunch. The Whanganui club, whose 44 members are retired or semi-retired, met to celebrate the occasion and share memories of the history of the club.
President Norma Aitchison said the national body had presented the club with a certificate marking its 35 years.
“We have a lot of founding members from the 1980s,” Aitchison said.
“We’re a small club and that’s how we like it but membership has increased recently with people moving to Whanganui.
“We have regional outings, bus trips, we do all sorts of stuff,” she said.
“We meet at the Blind Centre on the first Tuesday of the month. We have a guest speaker and, after the meeting, we go to a different restaurant.”
At the celebration lunch at the Wanganui East Club, founding member
Membership has increased recently with people moving
to Whanganui. Norma Aitchison, Rebus Wanganui
president
Bryan Dean spoke about the history of the club and acknowledged some of the people who had contributed to it over the years.
He said it was always intended to be a social club, not a service club, and initially only men could join. There was a “ladies’ day” once a year.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the club’s rules changed in 2005 to allow women to join.
Dean thanked the current members for continuing to fulfil the ideals of Rebus.
The club is one of several Rebus clubs nationally.