Page 15 - The Outdoor Showman APR-JUN 2020

Reg Established 1939
The Showmen’s Guild of South Australia
The
Showmen’s Guild of South Australia
P.O. Box 276
Two Wells, S.A 5501 Mobile: 0418 819 994
Office Bearers 2019 PRESIDENT
Daryl Girdler
SECRETARY
Alan Lynch
ASST. SECRETARY
Phillip Hamilton
TREASURER
Averil Lynch
VICE PRESIDENTS
Matt Hamilton Tamara Allen
COMMITTEE
Brad Girdler Alex Hamilton Luke Dankowski Clayton Smans Michael Leighton Garry Lynch Wayne Lynch Heather Lynch Colin Leighton
PATRONS
Robert Perry Ivan Venning
TRUSTEES
Pauline Allen Brent Leighton
SOLICITOR
Lazarus P Christou
A big hello to all Showmen, Show Societies and
friends of our Industry
UNPRECEDENTED is the word that is being used quite a bit lately, and hasn’t the current global health crisis really decimated our industry.
We are not alone as we are reminded daily that we are all in this together.
When the Prime Minister announced that amusement parks and festivals were to be closed we were all devastated as for the first time that I can recollect we were unemployed.
I can deal with doing a bad run of Shows due to weather or poor economic circumstances or any other situation, but this time it has been total shutdown of our industry, and if you couple this with the awful bushfire season we have just endured last summer then it has been in the queens words an ANNUS HORRIBILIS.
At the time of penning this article ( late April) we have of course all lost a large sum of our yearly earnings and even though the rate of infection has slowed dramatically we are being told that we are still facing a long road back to what will be close to what we remember as normal.
We are fortunate to live in this great country and our federal and state governments have handled this crisis much better than other governing bodies globally, handing out stimulus packages and monies to ensure we come out post crisis as good as can be expected.
When I talk to other Showman around Australia it is great to hear how we are staying positive and changing with the situation as necessary. For example some canteen operators have found markets or roadside sites and younger Showman have applied for jobs to keep the tucker money coming in; all good things that show our resilience.
In closing I would just like to say this will NOT last forever and we will all be back to doing what we love best.
I would usually say, safe prosperous trading but at this stage I will sign off with please stay safe and hang in there better times will be upon us soon.
Daryl. C. Girdler President
THE OUTDOOR SHOWMAN 13