10/08/2026
Our AGM is coming up on Thursday 13 August, and we wanted to invite anyone interested in learning more about our group to come along.
Last year our AGM was done in twenty minutes. Necessary business, ticked off, everyone home. This year we want it to be something different. Yes, we'll cover the formal parts — we expect that business to be finalised by 7:30pm — but we want to use the rest of the time we have together for something more valuable: getting people in a room, meeting each other, and figuring out how each of us can play a part in our community's resilience and emergency response.
We've recently been through a strategic review, and we're building on that with a simple structure of working groups, getting together every few months to work as a community on what we want to build next. This has all grown out of what WCRG has already achieved, and the AGM is a good chance to talk through what that looks like.
If you're new to WCRG, if you've been to a meeting once and weren't quite sure how to get involved, or even if you've been part of the group for a while but feel like you've lost momentum, this is for you. There's no catching up required and nothing to feel behind on.
There are a few different ways to be part of WCRG, and it helps to know they're all equally valued. Some people want to train for when an event actually happens, learning how the emergency hub works and stepping into a sector role when it's needed. Others feel drawn to helping build and support the group itself, the work that happens well before anything goes wrong. That's the person who makes sure there's a venue to turn up and train in, who puts together the funding request that buys the radios, who goes out and talks to community groups about what we do and how they can be more resilient, who makes sure our equipment is labelled, maintained, and ready to go, or who simply sends a welcome email to a new volunteer so they know where to start. Both matter just as much as each other, and most people end up doing a bit of both.
And for some people, being part of WCRG looks quieter than any of that. It might simply mean learning how to be resilient in your own home, knowing this group exists, and knowing it will be ready to respond when the time comes. Spreading the word to others counts too. Not everyone has the time or ability to be actively involved, and that is completely okay. If that is where you sit, please do not read this email and think it is not meant for you. It is.
Whatever time you have to give, even if it is only every now and then, it counts. Many hands make light work, and a community that does not rely on just a few people is one that lasts. That is what we are building, and we would love for you to be part of it, however that looks for you.
So please come along. Bring a friend or neighbour if they have ever shown interest. We'd love to meet you, and for you to get to meet some of the other volunteers too.
Date: Thursday 13 August, 7:00–9:00pm
Location: The Faulks Room, Lake Wānaka Centre
If you have any other questions before then, send us a facebook message or email. We would love to hear from you.
Nga mihi,
WCRG Committee
