The club building on Juliet Street was packed with members new and old on Saturday evening, when the newly created Stratford District Citizens and Services Club formally opened.
President Alister Willis said the new club was a show of unity, and he acknowledged the many hours of voluntary work people had put in to getting it running.
He said the volunteers had clearly "believed in the concept of a club facility reopening for the central Taranaki community," after the closure of both the Stratford Club and the Stratford RSA.
There were many people to thank, said Alister, from the people who had given financial support, to those who had picked up tools and physically worked on the building, and those who had given professional support in accounting, legal requirements and other areas.
Mayor Neil Volzke was then given the job of formally opening the club, something he said he was delighted to do.