
Cees and Marius |
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) |