Articles taken from De Colve XII – 2007: From the Chairman (1st article)

From the Chairman, Marius Kolff (CBCD XVIIw4)

Marius & Cees

It seemed to me to be a good start that my first act as the chairman was to appoint Cees L. Kolff as Member of Honour thanks to his many years of activities for the Association. The Heerendiners (Gentleman’s Dinners) were at the start of the Association. The first one took place at my great grandparents’ residence at Rotterdam. From the start, in 1926, my grandfather was a member of the board of the association and after him my father. Me at this meeting being appointed as chairman I see as a further continuation of their work and as a broadening of my 20 years’ work as secretary in the board. I will mainly be active as a facilitator and will, together with other members of the board, give direction to the future of our Association and with that to our ‘old’ and yet-so-modern family. After the next General Meeting the board will have representations from all branches and ages, wherever possible.

To strengthen the ties within our large family the Association has two important means: De Colve and the website. This 12th issue of De Colve contains once again a number of articles that contribute to our mutual identity. Thanks to several contributions by Dirk Kolff, archivist of the Association, we know more and more of the personal life of many generations of our ancestors who lived along the River Waal. Other articles in De Colve, such as a family residence in Naarden, but also family days such as the one at Ipenhof in Zeeland, all contribute to the mutual identity of the Kolffs. Identity will no doubt be an important factor of the activities of the board in the coming years. Identity is not mentioned in the regulations of the Association but it is an important part of the spiritual and physical history that contributes to the well being of members of the family. Working on identity is not only working with the past: it is also thinking of the future. Therefore the board will continue to organise family days that young and old will find attractive aiming at the largest participation possible.

(Full article in Dutch at De Colve XII at the Dutch part of this site)