Last week we held our AGM. Fred Hamblen was at the door, Angus Miller was Chairman. We had apologies from Gerald East, Paul Seymour and Nick Cole.
President Mitch Brown opened the meeting with his now customary acknowledgment of country, including the valuable information on “how do you wish an indigenous person a Merry Christmas”? You say “Merry Christmas!”… 😊 He welcomed our former member Evan Mita who signalled a strong interest to re-join the club. Welcome back, Evan!
 
Mitch urged us to update our personal details on ClubRunner (you’ll need to login to do that – contact Franz if you need assistance). He also provided a summary of the weekend’s fundraising effort at Bunnings – great effort, with record takings. And another one coming up on the 18th December.
 
Secretary Trent Belling conducted the AGM – the minutes of which will be posted to ClubRunner soon. In a nutshell: The President’s, directors and committee chair’s positions were hotly contested, with all positions having at least one nomination, which were elected unopposed. But we are looking for a President Elect for 2024-25.
 
Following the AGM, various directors brought us up to date. Here are some of the most important points:
Wheelchair Trust Chairman Larry Murray advised that we now have sufficient materials to make a further 120 wheelchairs, with 286 finished ones in stock, ready to ship as soon as we have the finances to pay for a container. Shipment is expected in March 2023. Larry also foreshadowed a potential new project: to manufacture racing bikes for disabled people. In essence, it is a tricycle type construction.
 
Mario Fairlie advised that the Christmas cakes are ready for distribution (they were handed out to our regular associate members on Saturday at the shed Christmas party), and he will also take a load of them to St John’s Crisis Centre for their Christmas Day luncheon. Some refurbished children’s bikes which came in from Palen Creek Correctional Centre (see last week’s bulletin), will also be taken there.
 
Treasurer Charles Thomasson advised that the project shed lease renewal is well under control. The concrete slab is to be put down on the weekend. After that, the only thing left to do is the certification of the Mezzanine floor. Charles also has some of the new T-Shirts left over - $50.00 each (of which the embroidery is $12.00)
 
Fundraising Director Ross Augustine advised detailed figures from the weekend’s Bunnings Sausage Sizzle. A net of $2,018 was earned, and Geoff Croad advised that we now have at least one, possibly two qualified builders to go with the X-Ray Unit over to Vanuatu. They will pay for the fares themselves.