At the Annual General Meeting last week, Rolly De With of the Junction Hotel was elected President and Will Creedon of the Lambton Park Hotel was elected Secretary.



Rolly De With is already well known to many Novacastrians, having successfully operated a number of licensed premises in the City and recently acquiring and renovating the Sunnyside Hotel. Will Creedon began operating the Lambton Park Hotel 12 months ago, after establishing a chain of Harrigans Irish Pubs in his role as General Manager of Hunter Valley Gardens.



Their election represents a generational change in leadership of one of the Hunter’s key industry associations. Both have been at the forefront of changes of the hotel industry with an emphasis on food service, quality entertainment and strong support of local community groups.



“I will have a different approach to Bruce Woods, but two things that won’t change are our commitment to represents the needs of the industry and our willingness to work with the community and Government agencies to ensure a safe working environment for anyone wishing to enjoy the hospitality of Hunter hotels,” Mr De With said.



He added that a tradition which would continue under his Presidency, was Hunter Hotels’ support for the Hunter Academy of Sport. Mr De With presented CEO Ken Clifford with a cheque for $40,000 at the recent Annual General Meeting.



Mr Clifford said: “This takes the financial support of the Hunter hotels to nearly $400,000 over the past 10 years. Without their support, we simply could not offer the children of the region such a variety of sports programs.”