Two years ago the committee of the Galley Club was stymied in its efforts to alter the structure of the organisation and distribute funds to deserving charities. Last night in North Sydney, Michael Schulz (pictured) was not to be brooked by driving a unanimous vote to give $30,000 to charity.
When it came to it only ten people turned up to see off the Galley Club in its original form. There were a number of apologies and proxies received by long-term former president, Michael Schulz, SOS Print, and they were all supportive of the motion to hand over the majority of Galley Club funds to charity.
In no mood to allow a repeat of the previous failed attempt to disburse the monies, Schulz ran the little gathering with determination to get the vote done.
“We don’t need the money any more. Nothing has happened in [the intervening] two years. It’s time to donate most of the funds. Let’s get it done and then we can talk,” he said.
The proposal was to give $30,000 to two literacy-based charities, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Sydney Story Factory, while retaining $7000 for the Galley Club. “These are good solid charities that do fantastic work in the book community. We’ll keep some money as there’s obviously a demand for the Club to continue. We’ll organise a Christmas event so members can keep in touch,” said Schulz. “But we don’t need $30,000 to do that.”
The decline of the Galley Club is indicative of the fragmenting publishing and printing industry. From heady days in the 1990s when the Galley Club Awards for books published during the year filled Blue Mountains resorts with over a hundred guests, to more recent times when it struggled to raise a quorum for even one or two meetings during the year, it’s been a roller coaster ride.
Dedicated efforts by many in the sector, especially Schulz, proved unable to keep the numbers and the interest up. Last night he intimated that the Awards will seek to integrate with the National Print Awards run by Printing Industries.
The Galley Club as we knew it is no more, but there may yet be a future for it in some other form.