Gympie VIEW Club

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. 

What a wonderful day of celebrations at Gunabul on the 20th June,  as our Club was joined by representatives from Maryborough and Hervey Bay VIEW Clubs, as well as members of Gympie Quota, Gympie South Lions and Gympie Older Women’s Network to mark 30 years of fun, fellowship, learning, and fundraising for The Smith Family children’s education charity. Also in attendance were VIEW’s National Councillor QB01 and QB02, Jean Jennings, who addressed the gathering on the day, and Zone Councillor QB02, Christine Forster.

Sean Connolly, Vice President of the Bendigo Bank, who helped us set up our Facebook account, and who was instrumental in our being given a grant to purchase a laptop, was also a welcome guest.
 A highlight of the day was to have Alan LeMay, who has been the General Manager of the Smith Family for Queensland for 10 years, as our Guest Speaker. Alan encouraged members to keep on sponsoring Learning for Life students – Gympie sponsors three; to continue to support the Digital Access programme and to consider Digital volunteering. One of our members, Christine, already takes part in this aspect of support. Alan also waxed lyrical about one of the Learning for Life students, Faith, who will be singing at the National Convention being held in Brisbane at the beginning of September. 

What a delight it was to have two of the inaugural members of Gympie VIEW, Margaret Mac and Margaret I., in attendance. They certainly had a lot of reminiscing to do. A marvellous display of memorabilia, including our original Charter, was on hand for members to enthuse over. Visitors on the day were treated to a sea of blue, in line with National VIEW’s theme, Blue Sapphire, as most members dressed in blue, one even wearing blue slippers! There were blue napkins on the tables, as well as blue beads scattered about, and guests and members were able to take home artificial blue roses and blue soap petals in the shape of roses, which were part of the table decorations. Each person in attendance also received a face washer fashioned into a small handbag.

Making the day even more special was the rendition of a bracket of songs from the ever-popular RSL Choir. What a marvellous performance that was, and it had members and guests alike singing and tapping along to the popular tunes. And….it wouldn’t be a Gympie VIEW meeting without a joke or two from the inimitable Carol. We can always rely on her for a joke or two.

A multi-draw raffle, prizes for which were donated by members, as well as a number of business houses, and a lucky door prize were held and many of us went home feeling our raffle money was well spent.   Following lunch, in lieu of cake, guests and members were treated to delicious home-made cupcakes, kindly donated by some of the members.

It was a red-letter day for President Esme at our March meeting, when she received a Making a Difference award for her outstanding contribution to VIEW over the last twenty years. It was also a big surprise for her, as all the arrangements had to be made without her knowledge of the award, so thanks go to Secretary Lyn, for all the cloak and dagger leg work she had to do to keep it a surprise. Accompanying photo of Lyn and Esme.

With increased membership over the last two years, and the subsequent increase in funds from our Trading Table, raffles and social events, our club has decided to take on another Learning-for-Life student, bringing the number of students we are now sponsoring to three.

Wendy, who had originally vowed that she would never become a member of a ladies’ group but has now been a member of VIEW for 20 years, was the subject of our Getting to Know you segment at our last meeting. Wendy’s mantra for life is: Keep a smile on your face and get up every day and decide to live your day well – something to which we should all aspire. Congratulations were the order of the day for Joy, who, with her husband Bevan, has recently celebrated   65 years of marriage. 

Point of VIEW for the day was, What do you think is of interest to visitors to the Gympie Region and it was of surprise to many that there is so much to do in our beautiful town and surrounds - no surprise, however, to member, Julie, who volunteers at the Information Centre.