Gympie VIEW Club

Our Club celebrated their 31st birthday on 19th June, at Gunabul. We were so pleased to welcome all our members, past members, visitors and representatives from View Clubs, Quota and Older Women's Network, who can be seen enjoying the day in the accompanying photo.

VIEW special guests were National Vice President Angela Carrol, National Councillor Christine Foster, Zone Councillor  QG02 Rhonda Jones, and QB01 Di Kennedy were welcomed by all.

Our Club has 39 members and supports three Learning For Life students. In our 31 years, we have raised $131,000 for the disadvantaged children through The Smith Family.  Nationally, The Smith Family's programs have reaches over 178,400 children and young people, supporting the education of more than 67,000 children.

Angela presented long service badges to Jean - 30 Year Badge, and Barbara - 20 Year Badge. What wonderful service these ladies have given to Gympie VIEW Club and the Smith Family.

Photo L-R:  Babara (20 year badge). Jean (30 year badge), and National Vice President of VIEW  Angela.

Entertainment was provided by Gympie Moonshine Cloggers who can be seen in the accompanying photo, and a fun contest of identifying the Baby Photos with Gympie Members.

Gunabul provided a delicious luncheon with individual Birthday patty cakes.  For our 20th birthday, Carol Tonagh wrote new words to the music of What a Wonderful World as a Gympie Birthday Song. Today, on our 31st birthday, Carol, Deb Minter and Pat Smith sang this special song again for us.

Photo of Members catching-up for a coffee, at Bauple.

Our Club has started the year with lots of fun and calories. Monthly Morning Teas and Lunches are enjoyed by all the Gympie Girls and visitors.  

Raising money for the education of our Smith Family students is our main aim in VIEW but our other aim is to connect with local women for social, friendship, communication and welfare connections.
If you have a few hours to spare and wish to connect with like-minded women, please contact Gympie VIEW Club by phone or email as can be seen in the page above; you will be most welcome.

Accompanying photos: Left - A group at the Woolooga Hotel; Top Right - At our April Meeting; and Bottom Right - On Platform 2 of the Rusty Nails.

Photo of many of our Members showing their bunny ears and Easter bonnets for a fun Easter gathering.

At our February Meeting, the guest speaker was Sean Connelly, a local gentleman who  promotes communication as a valuable tool for  clubs like ours, for  social interaction and for mental health. 

Communication via online social media spreads the word to those with similar interests.  (True information!) Sean is a great supporter of our Gympie Club.

Accompanying photo shows our Members who attended the February meeting, taken in the beautiful grounds of our General Meeting venue , Gunabul on Power Rd Southside, Gympie.

At our September meeting, Members welcomed a visit from Guest Speaker Terina, from Range Care, who gave the meeting a very good overview of their service and the upcoming Government changes.

Our Point of View segment on the day was, If pets could talk, what would they say to you? The mind boggles! Programme Officer, Sharan, was the focus of the Getting to Know You part of our meeting and members were all interested to find out more about her life. Members are looking forward to showcasing our organization at the Seniors’ Expo, being held on the 30th of October. 

Lyn and Pat attended the Delegates’ meeting held in Childers late last month, with the Chair being Christine Foster QB02 Zone Councillor. Gympie VIEW members extend their congratulations to Christine, who will take over the role of QB National Councillor next year. Members from Capricornia, Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Hervey Bay and Maryborough Clubs were also in attendance. Special Guest at the meeting was Jean Jennings, QB National Councillor and recipient of the George Forbes Award in 2022-23. It was interesting to hear what other clubs are doing to promote VIEW in their communities, as well as their fundraising and social activities.  

These are exciting times for VIEW throughout Australia, which has clubs in every state. There is the potential of establishing clubs around Bunbury and Mandurah in W.A., plus around Torquay in Victoria. Of particular interest to Queensland members is the establishment, in May this year, of the Capricornia VIEW Club and the vision of starting up another VIEW Club in Townsville. As the Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a mantle of medical care throughout rural and remote areas of Australia, so soon will VIEW Clubs provide a mantle of educational care for children living in poverty right throughout Australia. When George Forbes started the Balgowlah Sydney VIEW Club with only ten members in March 1960, little could he dream how far his vision would extend.

Lachlan McIntosh, founder and Managing Director of Wellness Australia Group, was guest speaker at our recent monthly lunch meeting. As per their internet site, their mission is, to listen and learn from people with a disability and their families, so we can deliver tailored, meaningful services. We strive to empower people to live to their full potential and connect and thrive in the communities they live in. Our values and vision are at the core of the services we provide and reflect our commitment to the people we walk and work alongside. A number of its clients are employed at Gunabul, which is one of several workplaces undertaking this programme. Members thoroughly enjoyed this very interesting and informative presentation. 

It was an entertaining meeting all round, with Barbara being the focus of our Getting to Know You segment, Sarah being presented with her membership badge, and listening to the Point of View stories, the subject of which was A fond memory of your first date. 

Members always look forward to our wonderful annual Soup and Crusty Bread Day, which, this year, was held at Lyn’s home. Once again, it lived up to its reputation, with a wide range of soups, desserts and crusty bread to tempt the tastebuds – think 2 types of Pumpkin soup, Zucchini soup, Chicken and Noodle soup and that old favourite at this time of year – Pea and Ham Soup, not to mention the desserts which included Lemon Meringue Pie, Slices, Rum Balls (without the rum) and Apricot Balls. It certainly was a feast fit for a king.

A number of our members also manned a stall at the biennial Heritage Makers and Craft Fair, which over 5,000 people attended. What a great opportunity that was to showcase our wonderful organization.