Final Farewell to Ian Horne

BY IAN RAVENSCROFT

The recent farewell for Ian Horne at Adelaide Oval was a fitting finale to a man who lived the dream for us all as our leader.

At the function he was awarded Life Membership of the AHA|SA, the first ever for a non-hotel owner, and received a standing ovation in recognition of this inaugural achievement. The event, MC’d by Chris Dittmar, had speech contributions from our current president David Basheer, David Curry, and Peter Hurley AO, who was president for 24 years, of which 17 years were working together with Ian.

The Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas, also spoke glowingly of the professionalism of Ian whenever dialogue occurred with him on hospitality, hotel or tourism matters. He said he respected Ian’s opinion and that he was very tenacious. The Premier also light-heartedly referred to the fact that Ian Horne had actually “made the bigtime” by having a West End stubby created with his name and face on it, as a token of importance he has attained in the community.

I have always believed that one of the hallmarks of being a member of the AHA|SA is that every hotel member is recognised equally, whether you are a sole operator or own multiple hotels.

This always ensured the strength in membership numbers and a proudness by all to be involved. The respect the Premier spoke of will be maintained because the AHA|SA leadership group, council members, executive committee and staff are professionals and have significant tenure in their roles.

The farewell to Ian as a leader has highlighted the integrity of the man’s approach to all things normal or controversial that have occurred over the years.

The final regional council meeting Ian Horne attended prior to retiring was the Yorke Peninsula regional at the Royal Exchange Hotel at Kadina. An excellent number of members were present for the occasion, along with many corporate partners, including John Langford (hotel broker), Steve Markham (business manager and a regular overseer of such events), Grant Clarke (McGees), Scott Elix (CUB), Scott Randell (Coopers) and Andrew Tully (Lion Nathan) to name a few long-term corporates.

All were reflecting on past functions and gatherings. Unfortunately the current Councillor for the YP region - Trevor Evans - was an absentee, but David Papps and yours truly (Ravo’s Bush Telegraph) were present, being the nearest past councillors for the YP area. For interest sake, going back from that point, past councillors were John Warren, then Stan Papps (father of David), and Michael Kennedy from Warooka, all in the modern era.

I asked Ian what was his most significant memory and he said it was probably back in 1992 with the gaming machine legislation being passed through parliament. However he also believed that so many staff were long term employees with the AHA|SA, which assisted provided stability to the organisation and supported him in his role.

David and Ian Horne with Ravo.

Anna Moeller, who until now has been the Deputy General Manager, has been promoted to replace Ian as the new CEO. We all congratulate Anna on her appointment and wish her all the very best for the future.

The RBT says good luck to your sporting team in pursuit of grand final wins in the coming months and may the Ashes be won in the Old Dart once again!