President’s Report, February 2021. Remembering Margaret Foy.

Dear Friends,
Welcome to a new and eventful year with ABC Friends. Our first meeting of the year will be Saturday 20th February at our usual venue, The Grand View Hotel at Wentworth Falls, at 10am.

Vale Margaret Foy
As you have been advised, our esteemed Friend Margaret Foy died late last year. Several Blue Mountains Friends were able to attend her funeral at Leura Memorial Gardens on the 21st December.
Margaret was an extraordinarily active ABC Friend for over 30 years. As a passionate supporter and defender of our ABC, she served in many roles, including Blue Mountains Branch President. Margaret was known across Australia for her enduring commitment and dedication to the ABC. She was an activist, a lobbyist, an advisor, a mentor, a true believer in the ABC, and hence a staunch believer in the Friends of the ABC.
Margaret enthusiastically led our branch in campaigns, rallies, forums, local festivals and major events. She represented us at National and State conferences of ABCF, and maintained contact with her wide network of Friends. She was an invaluable font of knowledge of all things ABC, and established a great rapport with many ABC identities, thus securing big-name guest speakers for our meetings and forums. She contributed many times to the ABC Friends Update Magazine; her final contribution was in April 2018, reporting on the Inaugural ABC Public Meeting at Ultimo. Later that year, Margaret was awarded Life Membership of ABC Friends, a rare and prestigious honour.
Over the last two years, Margaret served our branch as Senior Vice President. Despite persistent and varied health problems, Margaret attended as many meetings as she could. She really enjoyed socialising over lunch after our monthly meetings at the Grand View Hotel at Wentworth Falls.
She will be greatly missed, but forever remembered as an inspiring, true Friend of Our ABC.

Sue Noske