OD UNION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 

I write this as my final act as Chairman of the OD Union. The purpose of this missive is to share with you what this past committee has achieved over the past 12 months. 

Firstly, however, I would like to congratulate all Top House ODs on the 125th anniversary of that fine boarding house. 

RELATIONSHIP WITH BISHOPS 

We, as ODs, are grateful in the manner in which the relationship between the school and the ODs is embraced. This has been a focal point of the OD committee since Wilbur van Niekerk became chairman of the Union, as the relationship had been allowed to become frayed.  I believe that it is crucial for this mutually symbiotic relationship to continue in order for the Union to continue to thrive. We have recently secured a continued contribution to the OD magazine for this year and years to come. 

ACTIVITIES 

This has been a busy year for the committee, which was reduced in numbers notwithstanding the co-opting of certain members to the committee, with the business of the committee becoming increasingly distracted by aspects which, in my opinion, ought not have detained the committee for the amount of time which they did.   

What was pleasing, though, was that the committee did have continuity, and as such the internal institutional knowledge meant that we could continue on from where we had left off in the previous year.  It is important for ODs to understand the importance of this continuity.  It is decidedly unhelpful having a completely new committee each and every year, as it takes time to gain the institutional knowledge, and projects may lose impetus. 

We have largely accomplished that which we have set out to do in the past year, with the reinstatement of the PBO status for the OD Bursary Fund being a great achievement after a frustrating 18 months of engagement with SARS.  It is required that our founding document in relation to the Fund be amended within one year. I had hoped that this could be merely done through the amendment of the Constitution. However, and in support of the proposed amendments to the Constitution, it is deemed appropriate that we also amend the trust deed of the OD Bursary Trust.  I have prepared those documents which will be made available to the office. 

Similarly, we conferred honorary membership on a large number of employees of Bishops, being both academic staff, but even more importantly, non-academic staff who have served our community for more than 10 years. It was a wonderful privilege to hand out ties or scarves to those deserving members of support staff, ground staff, and other non-academic staff, who for too long have been ignored and overlooked.  I thank Tony Reeler for his encouragement and enthusiastic support of this endeavour. 

We have had many events in this last year, including: 

• A wonderful dinner at Kelvin which was oversubscribed. This year, will be less controversial, but no less entertaining, with Oscar Chalupsky as speaker and hosted by Brandon De Kock as MC;  
• A number of reunions throughout the year including hosting events at the Mitre;  
• OD sports fixtures (rugby and hockey) against our traditional rivals; 
• The traditional Founders’ Day sports fixtures against the school (with even more sports codes and teams this year – doubling down on the rejuvenation of this great day); 
• The usual UK events including the dinner with the Principal, the UK OD Dinner, cricket fixtures and cross country races, and the 12 lessons and 12 carols service, many of which will be repeated this year; 
• Richard Cock’s Bishops Carols, which raised funds for the ODU and the IIOFF; 
• The multitude of OD book launches, discussions and other talks hosted by Paul Murray at the Mitre; 
• The IIOFF art and wine show, which was well supported and hopefully will become a fixture; 
• The Gauteng Dinner, which was a start of many more, courtesy of some generous donations to cover the booze;  
• Gatherings between ODs, OMs and OAs firstly at the Rugby / Hockey festival, and then at the Mitre later on in the year; and 

There has also been a pleasing increase in the number of get-togethers held in far flung places such as Australia, Canada and the like. 

I am pleased to confirm that Paul Murray, our OD Ambassador, who has been a driving force in the various events, and reunion school walkabouts, has agreed to stay on for at least another year.   

ROBERT GRAY MEDALS 

We conferred Robert Gray Medals on John Victor George Dobson and Blain Tomlinson, who are both great supporters of the school and the OD Union. We also finally physically handed the Robert Gray Medal to Antony Record, who could at last come to the service at the memorial Chapel. All three speeches were wildly different but all three were greatly received by the boys.  It is magnificent to again see the diverse manner in which ODs enrich society.  

BURSARIES 

We have, and continue, to give out bursaries to sons of ODs.  We have in excess of 20 boys at Bishops who benefit from the OD bursary scheme, and we contribute circa R1 million per annum, derived from the interest achieved from the investment of our Bursary Fund.  It is critical, though, that this fund, and our administrative fund, benefits from an injection of cash.  This is something for the new committee to focus on in the upcoming year.

MENTORSHIP 

We continue with our mentorship programmes.  There have been a number of young ODs who have benefited from the programme, be it through guidance, coaching, work experience or the like.  This needs to be an ongoing engagement and we must continue to grow this offering.  It needs to go beyond mere networking.  This will take a great deal of investment of time for the new committee. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 

We hope to pass certain amendments to our constitution which one would think are largely self-explanatory and uncontroversial.  The essence of those amendments are largely to: 

Codify the agreed protocol relating to the conferring of honorary membership to all employees of the school who have served the school for more than 10 years;  

• Increase the term of the committee to three years; 
• Introduce provisions necessary to retain our PBO status (although SARS treats us as two entities, and the advice that I have received is that given the nature of the activities of the ODU, the ODU itself cannot be given PBO status, but the Bursary Fund can, notwithstanding what others may say or think); and  
• Regularise the manner in which decisions are to be taken by the committee and the publication of such decisions. 

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS 

The ODs are to be commended for their generosity with regard to the magnificent stained glass window campaign, which saw the ODs contributing more than their fair share towards the costs of the three new stained glass windows in the Brook Chapel.  It would be remiss of me to fail to point out the contributions of all those ODs who gave so generously, and it was pleasing to see the number of UK ODs who gave so willingly. 

UK BRANCH 

I am pleased to report that the relationship between the committee and the UK ODs is fantastic once again. Charles McGregor has come in with sensibility and no lack of enthusiasm, and with a view to finding solutions, rather than concentrating on problems. That said, we do need to ensure that the ODU and its branches are financially viable, and we need to find ways to generate income to fund the ongoing activities. 

SERVICE 

If I may, with your permission, trespass upon your time. Being on the OD committee is about service, which I have been recently reminded of by Keith Richardson, Brian Robertson, VP and Charles McGregor, Convenor of UK.   

It is deeply concerning to acknowledge the level of criticism and personal attacks that have been directed not only at myself but also at members of the committee, the former chairman of the council, members of the council, and even the Principal. Unfortunately, these instances of abuse—both from abroad and closer to home—have been particularly evident on certain platforms, including a specific WhatsApp group. 

While open dialogue and constructive criticism are essential for progress, the nature of some of these exchanges has crossed a line into personal and unwarranted attacks. This is not reflective of the values we associate with the Bishops community. It is important to remember that while the ODU plays a meaningful role, we are neither the custodians of the school nor do we govern it. Our focus remains on fostering a strong and supportive alumni network, built on respect and shared purpose. 

I remain steadfast in my commitment to serving this community with integrity and dedication, undeterred by disparaging remarks. It is my hope that we can move forward with a spirit of mutual respect and understanding, ensuring that discussions—however robust—are always conducted in a manner befitting the traditions and ethos we uphold.

I am, however, reminded of those ODs who do serve, both the school and the Union.  Of those who give of their time, their effort and some of their money or product.  I’ll not name them, but they know who they are.  Those who coach polo, rugby and hockey, those who serve on subcommittees of the council, and the council itself. Those who have served this committee, those who produce the OD magazine and those who donate the wine. Those who sit on the bursary committee, those who serve on the Bishops Trust, the Patron, and the President who, too, has been vilified with impunity by the erstwhile UK secretary.   

If ODs want to contribute – that is how to contribute. Not by participating in an echo chamber where conservative values are being bandied about, and those who oppose are silenced, and ad hominem attacks are commonplace.  We are, surely, collectively better than that.   

My plea to the new committee (and ODs) is not to lose focus on what really matters. What is vital is a sense of community, social awareness and camaraderie. We, as ODs, want the chance to engage with one another at reunions and other functions, we want to hear the news of our peers. We want to give and know that as a result of our giving, sons of ODs can go to Bishops, and young ODs can have tertiary education, and we want to help each other through mentorship and networking.  Those are the core elements of the OD Union – not how many ODs are on the council (and there are 5 by the way).  

Being on the OD committee takes time and commitment.  You must be prepared to work. 

Whilst we are dispelling false narratives; the ODU occupies the Mitre in terms of a written agreement for free as an acknowledgment of the monies contributed by ODs to the construction of that building; the OD Bursary Fund, as we have heard, does have PBO status, we do get donations (alas, less than the year before, mostly from bequests) and we grant bursaries; we do have a mentorship program (thanks to Bulelani and others) and it should be better; the school does contribute toward the OD Magazine and thanks to the very good relationship with the school (and the Principal in particular) we have secured that funding for this year and beyond.  Don’t destroy that relationship – I implore you.   

I am glad that the UK thrives, that Charles McGregor and his team has a plan for the UK ODs and how we can fund their activities, and that Bishops remains at the forefront of education in South Africa. I am glad that Founders Day is back where it was, that the OD dinner is sought after and that reunions are enthusiastically enjoyed.   

Floreat Bishops, and floreat Top House in their 125th year.  

Thank you.