Agnes Madden awarded life membership
Agnes 'Aggie' Madden was awarded life membership of Marist St Pats at the club's AGM on 25 November.
John Spillane nominated Agnes for the honour and her nomination was unanimously passed with acclamation.
Her award recognises the Madden family's long assocation with the club. As a sponsor of MSP in the 1990s through the Regent Tavern, Agnes and her husband Jimmy donated many thousands of dollars over many years.
This financial support was vital in keeping MSP solvent when the club went through a very tough period, and the club's strong position today is in part attributable to the support from Agnes and Jimmy at the time.
She was also a lot more than just a financial backer - Norm Broughton tells of the first time he arrived in Wellington from Hato Paoro College, with his cousin at Christmas time. They knew no-one in the city, but Agnes took the pair under her wing and they had Christmas dinner with the Madden family.
As significant as the financial assistance has been, it is her other roles, official on the management committee and unofficial as the consumate host, that Aggie has made the greatest input. In nominating her, John, a former club chairman said:
"I had the pleasure of working with Aggie in looking after the clubrooms for many years, and her energy, ability and vision made her the ultimate 'go to' person for all events."
At a time when the clubrooms swelled under the weight of big crowds every Saturday and the bar take was triple today's, it was the dynamic duo of Agnes Madden - host, bar manager, crowd controller, raffle organiser and ticket seller - and the late Anastasia Reidy, MSP's own master chef, along with their personally invited entourages, that enabled the clubrooms to run smoothly and provided that family feeling.
"Aggie is firm but fair, she knew all the boy's names and was not afraid to get them help," said John.
"Her lovely way was very effective. 'Take your hat off, darling', or 'Take those empty jugs up to the bar, darling', were well-used sayings."
Her ability to do everything was secondary only to her ability to do the right things at the right time. She had a great touch for all social occasions, and her 'no problems' attitude made difficult jobs look easy. She always delivered with a smile and a welcome hug.
Even after Aggie retired from the management committee, she and John Gordon combined to form a wonderfully effective greeting team at the clubrooms every Saturday night.
Only ill health over recent times has slowed Aggie's involvement. She remains a staunch supporter of the Red Machine and the club is indebted to Aggie for her financial, social and personal support over many years.
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