HSA July 2023
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R A V O ’ S B U S H T E L E G R A P H<br />
FINAL FAREWELL<br />
TO IAN HORNE<br />
BY IAN RAVENSCROFT<br />
The recent farewell for Ian Horne at<br />
Adelaide Oval was a fitting finale to<br />
a man who lived the dream for us<br />
all as our leader.<br />
At the function he was awarded<br />
Life Membership of the AHA|SA,<br />
the first ever for a non-hotel owner,<br />
and received a standing ovation<br />
in recognition of this inaugural<br />
achievement. The event, MC’d<br />
by Chris Dittmar, had speech<br />
contributions from our current<br />
president David Basheer, David<br />
Curry, and Peter Hurley AO, who<br />
was president for 24 years, of<br />
which 17 years were working<br />
together with Ian.<br />
The Premier of South Australia,<br />
Peter Malinauskas, also spoke<br />
glowingly of the professionalism<br />
of Ian whenever dialogue occurred<br />
with him on hospitality, hotel<br />
or tourism matters. He said he<br />
respected Ian’s opinion and that he<br />
was very tenacious. The Premier<br />
also light-heartedly referred to the<br />
fact that Ian Horne had actually<br />
“made the bigtime” by having a<br />
West End stubby created with his<br />
name and face on it, as a token of<br />
importance he has attained in the<br />
community.<br />
I have always believed that one of<br />
the hallmarks of being a member<br />
of the AHA|SA is that every hotel<br />
member is recognised equally,<br />
whether you are a sole operator<br />
or own multiple hotels.<br />
This always ensured the strength<br />
in membership numbers and a<br />
proudness by all to be involved.<br />
The respect the Premier spoke of<br />
will be maintained because the<br />
AHA|SA leadership group, council<br />
members, executive committee<br />
and staff are professionals and<br />
have significant tenure in their roles.<br />
The farewell to Ian as a leader<br />
has highlighted the integrity of the<br />
man’s approach to all things normal<br />
or controversial that have occurred<br />
over the years.<br />
The final regional council meeting<br />
Ian Horne attended prior to retiring<br />
was the Yorke Peninsula regional at<br />
the Royal Exchange Hotel at Kadina.<br />
An excellent number of members<br />
were present for the occasion,<br />
along with many corporate partners,<br />
including John Langford (hotel<br />
broker), Steve Markham (business<br />
manager and a regular overseer<br />
of such events), Grant Clarke<br />
(McGees), Scott Elix (CUB), Scott<br />
Randell (Coopers) and Andrew<br />
Tully (Lion Nathan) to name a<br />
few long-term corporates.<br />
All were reflecting on past functions<br />
and gatherings. Unfortunately the<br />
current Councillor for the YP region<br />
- Trevor Evans - was an absentee,<br />
but David Papps and yours truly<br />
(Ravo’s Bush Telegraph) were<br />
present, being the nearest past<br />
councillors for the YP area.<br />
For interest sake, going back from<br />
that point, past councillors were<br />
John Warren, then Stan Papps<br />
(father of David), and Michael<br />
Kennedy from Warooka, all in the<br />
modern era.<br />
I asked Ian what was his most<br />
significant memory and he said<br />
it was probably back in 1992 with<br />
the gaming machine legislation<br />
being passed through parliament.<br />
However he also believed that<br />
so many staff were long term<br />
employees with the AHA|SA,<br />
which assisted provided stability<br />
to the organisation and supported<br />
him in his role.<br />
David and Ian Horne with Ravo.<br />
Anna Moeller, who until now has<br />
been the Deputy General Manager,<br />
has been promoted to replace Ian<br />
as the new CEO. We all congratulate<br />
Anna on her appointment and wish<br />
her all the very best for the future.<br />
The RBT says good luck to your<br />
sporting team in pursuit of grand<br />
final wins in the coming months<br />
and may the Ashes be won in the<br />
Old Dart once again!<br />
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