Barry Green
February 9, 2017
Former South Burnett councillor Barry Green was re-elected as president of the Nanango Funfest committee at the group’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday night.
Funfest are responsible for organising the Heritage Nanango New Year’s Eve Mardi Gras, the town’s annual Casino Night and the Mardi Gras Cent Auction.
Delivering his president’s address, Mr Green said the year ahead would see some changes.
The first is that the Nanango Tourism and Development Association will take over running the Casino Night to ease the workload on Funfest members.
The second is that Funfest will continue to innovate and tweak the New Year’s Eve Mardi Gras.
“The shift (of the Nanango Mardi Gras) to New Year’s Eve can only be described as successful with large numbers attending once again,” Mr Green said.
“However, in my opinion, we still haven’t got it quite right. We are almost there but not quite, and it needs to be the incoming committee’s sole aim to make this happen this New Year’s Eve.”
There will also be some changes in Funfest’s executive committee.
Mr Green paid tribute to former secretary and event coordinator Sue Wallis, who has stepped down from the group for health reasons; and former treasurer Paula Schofield, who stepped down at the AGM to go into retirement.
He also thanked the many volunteers who had helped with the past year’s Funfest events and said they deserved the thanks of the Nanango community as well.
But he reserved his biggest praise for Nanango’s Heritage Community Branch, who are the Mardi Gras’ major sponsor.
“Where would we be – and where would the town be – without Heritage?” Mr Green asked.
“Heritage is an integral part of this town’s fabric, and the millions of dollars it has given back to Nanango has enabled this comunity to do things on a scale previously thought too hard or even impossible.
“Our Mardi Gras is one of those events, and quite frankly without Heritage the Mardi Gras in its present form would not happen.
“On behalf of this organisation and the town I sincerely thank Heritage for their support.”
Mr Green also called for more community involvement on the Funfest committee in his concluding remarks, noting that many of the people who organise major events throughout the region are now in their sixties.
“May I express this thought: we are at the crossroads,” Mr Green said.
“We need new blood and new ideas, and if these ingredients are not forthcoming then we will fold and the town will be the worse for it.
“So it’s time the town and the greater community stepped up. It’s one thing to get on social media and express one’s thoughts. But it’s another thing to get off one’s backside and do something positive to help.
“Here’s the challenge – if you want this festival, then volunteer to help. It’s that simple.”
Cr Roz Frohloff was elected as Funfest’s vice-president, and Marion Douglas elected as secretary and events co-ordinator.
The committee are now seeking a replacement to step into the shoes of outgoing treasurer Paula Schofield.
The group’s next meeting will be held at Nanango RSL at 5:30pm on Thursday, March 9, to begin planning the 2017 Heritage Nanango New Year’s Eve Mardi Gras.
Anyone who’d like to get involved in this event is welcome to attend, or can contact Mr Green on (07) 4163-1266.
