Safeguarding Member Privacy: Our Commitment Amid Recent Data Breach Concerns.

May 2, 2024/in News, Our Members /by Julia Vuong

The recent media reports regarding a data breach affecting various licensed Clubs and Pubs in NSW have raised some concerns about the security of personal information of our valued members at Revesby Workers’ Club. Please note that the Club assures all its members including, Health Mates Fitness Centre, Mooney Mooney Club & Revesby Greens, that safeguarding member privacy is our utmost priority. At Revesby Workers’ Club, we hold a deep commitment to protecting the confidentiality and security of our members’ details. As such, we implement stringent measures to ensure that your personal information remains secure at all times

It’s important to clarify that the reported data breach is not linked to Revesby Workers’ Club systems. Our club does not engage with the third-party IT provider associated with the breach. We maintain full control over our data storage and management systems, allowing us to uphold the highest standards of security and privacy for our members.

Should you have any concerns or questions regarding the security of your personal information, we encourage you to reach out to our team. Your peace of mind is paramount to us, and we are here to address any inquiries or provide additional information as needed.

ANZAC Day Service 2024

April 26, 2024/in Events, Our Members /by Julia Vuong

On Thursday 25th April, Revesby Workers’ Club hosted a memorable ANZAC Day event, drawing nearly 300 community members, including the Padstow Rotary Club, Revesby Workers Little Athletics, St. Luke’s Primary School, and many others. The morning began with a march from the Bankstown YMCA to the Revesby Workers’ Club Cenotaph, led by the 9th Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery, followed by the Governor Macquarie Memorial Pipe Band, with over 200 participants from diverse backgrounds joining the march.

At 10:45 am, the service commenced, with Vice President Christine Butters opening proceedings, followed by President Daryl Melham, and readings from Directors Christine Benham and Linda Downey, along with Ray Devnie from the RSL Sub-branch. Following the service, attendees returned to the Club for an ANZAC Day morning tea function.

A special thanks to our management and staff who worked tirelessly in orchestrating the service and thanks to all of the club members and community who attended to show respect and honour our veterans and their families in the local district.

‘They shall grow not old,

As we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them,

Nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun

And in the morning,

We will remember them’

Directors Report May 2024

April 26, 2024/in CEO Report, Directors Report /by Julia Vuong

Directors Report May 2024

Since I joined the Workers’ Club Board in 2020, one of the things I’ve enjoyed most is being the liaison director for my sub clubs.

The sub clubs are the sporting and social groups who wear our colours and represent us in activities like soccer, netball, cricket and swimming. There are also clubs centred around non-sporting pursuits like gardening.

Some of the sub clubs are older than the Workers’ Club itself – many of the 240 foundation members came from local sporting clubs like soccer, cricket and golf, and brought those clubs into the Workers’ when it was founded in 1962. In many registered clubs, the directors have little to do with their sub clubs. Relations between the club and sub club are managed by staff. The sub clubs rarely, if ever, hear from a member of the board let alone see a director at one of their meetings.

At the Workers’ each director is assigned several sub clubs. I look after the Netball, Men’s Golf, Little Athletics and Revesby
Writers sub clubs. Directors are expected to meet with the sub clubs regularly and provide a conduit between the board and the sub club members. This keeps the concerns of the sub clubs front and centre for the board.

There are so many sub clubs in the Workers’ that you can pretty much pick any sport and we have a sub club for you. But one area where we might be lacking a bit is in the arts.

We have our wonderful Revesby Writers who meet on the first Saturday of every month. Every meeting each member brings a new piece, usually on an assigned theme, to read to the group. It’s a great way for local writers to keep going and get feedback on their writing.

When I was a kid we had a Revesby Workers’ Youth Drama Club. Run by Noelene and her husband, there was a junior kids and senior kids classes on weekends. The students would learn acting and confidence skills and build towards a performance in the school holidays. Once or twice a year they put on a pantomime that was on every day for a week
during the holidays. These were extremely popular with parents struggling for holiday activities (and the kids loved them too).

I’d love to see more arts groups come to the club. Acting, music, reading, painting, film, book clubs – I’m open to any
ideas. Communities can’t live on sports alone – we need more places where members whose interests lay elsewhere can find other like-minded people.

They can start small – many of our sub clubs are just a group of people meeting once a month in a room to talk about their common interest. But if enough people join, the club
has many ways of supporting and helping groups grow. I’d love to see the Club with as many arts based sub clubs as we have wonderful sports sub clubs.

If you have any ideas, please email me at badenk@rwc.org.au.

Baden Kirgan, Director

Hard to believe we are now in May, what a start to 2024.

It’s now been 7 months since being elected as a Director at Revesby Workers’ Club and I still pinch myself and feel extremely honoured to represent such an iconic brand, an Organisation that has members and staff at the forefront of every decision that is made.

One of my first official events was the Seniors Christmas Concert held in the Auditorium on the 12^thDecember 2023. What a great afternoon joined by over 400 members with first-class entertainment in what was one of the last events in the Auditorium as we once knew it.

With all function rooms being closed for most of the year due to major renovation and refurbishment we are looking forward to the new look with works due for completion in October 2024.

2024 has seen many great community initiatives take place either by our Revesby Workers’ staff or some of our Sub Club that are all run by dedicated volunteers.

Congratulations to Christine Butters President of Revesby Workers Little Athletics and the team of volunteers on the opening of their new facility at Kelso North a venue that will serve for many years to come.

As many of our Summer Sports wrap up our Winter sports are in full flight Revesby Workers, Netball, and Football (Soccer) just to name a couple.

Revesby Workers Football Club which I’m the Liaison Director has teamed up with Sydney FC to run a Program dedicated to Girls 12 to 15. The program (She Can) is not all about Football it also covers many topics that face young women and provides them with guidance and skills in Communication, Leadership and Confidence.

I joined Club Staff recently attending a Club Wide Meeting lead by our Executive Manager, People & Culture Sharyn Buhagiar who provided key updates with the team and some refresher compliance training.

Thank you to everybody that visited the Club and attended our ceremony to pay respects on ANZAC Day it was truly a fantastic turnout and one of my favourite events on the calendar.

This issue of the Journal covers so many great events happening throughout the club. I’m looking forward to continuing to catch up with members around the club over the coming months.

Daniel Kurtz, Director

Executive Report May 2024

April 17, 2024/in CEO Report, Directors Report /by Danielle McKenna

Dear Members,

We hope you all had an enjoyable Easter and for those who were able to enjoy a lovely 4 day weekend. While the cooler weather has been appreciated, I am sure you will agree that we are not looking forward to those frosty winter months ahead of us.

SCHOOL SUBSIDY PROGRAM

You will recall in our last Executive Report we provided an update on the schools that were fortunate enough to receive funding under our now School Subsidy Program and the projects they were undertaking.

We are happy to report that we held an extremely successful cheque presentation ceremony on Friday, 1 March 2024 that was attended by all recipients where we were able to meet with school representatives and discuss their projects that are currently underway.

In attendance at the morning tea was Vice President Christine Butters, Director Christine Benham and Director/Chair of the Education Committee Linda Downey. Also in attendance was Revesby Workers’ Club staff member Alysha Green who joined the Club in mid- January as the Assistant Manager, Marketing and Community. This event was an opportunity for the school representatives to meet with Alysha as she will be running the school subsidy program next year together with all community related work undertaken at the Club.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

On Wednesday, 14 February 2024 the Education Committee met to review new applications for the annual Tertiary Scholarship Program.

For 2024 the Club had a huge 37 previous recipients receive their $500 scholarship for ongoing studies providing a total of $18,0=500 to previous recipients. 9 of these recipients are in their final year of studies and we would like to wish them all the very best at the conclusion of 2024 and on the completion of their degree. We would love to stay in touch to see where they land their first job and how they find the workforce as we are humbled to have been able to provide financial support throughout their studies.

Similar to last year, we received a significant number of applications with 8 achieving ATARs of over 90 and of those 8, 5 achieving over 95 which made 2024 an extremely competitive process. The 2024 Scholarship Program awarded 1 male and 1 female with a $3,000 scholarship and 12 applicants with a $500 scholarship totalling $12,000 to new applicants in 2024. These 2024 recipients will receive a further $500 for each subsequent year of their degree upon submission of successful results.

This takes the total of Tertiary Scholarship payments in 2024 to $30,500

An afternoon tea for our scholarship recipients took place on Sunday 7 April 2024, an event has over 60 attendees and was the most widely attended afternoon tea ceremony yet.

A special mention must be given to the recipients of the $3,000 scholarships in 2023:

Kristina La who achieved an ATAR of 97 and will be studying a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of NSW.
Tony Hu who achieved an ATAR of 98.50 and will be studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney.

Congratulations to all of our previous and new recipients.

AUDITORIUM RENOVATIONS

Prior to the February Board meeting, our Executive Manager – Food and Beverage, Darren Foots and Executive Manager-– Facilities, Simon Melham took the Board of Directors for a tour of the auditorium renovation site. Boden Construction has worked extremely hard and fast to commence demolition of the old auditorium and function space in preparation to commence building of our new Auditorium and function space. We look forward to welcoming members back to the space for their future functions towards the end of 2024.

While we are aware of the disruptions this may cause throughout the Club in certain areas, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our extremely understanding members. While the opening of the new area seems far away, we hope to be discussing this in the very next Journal which is only around the corner.

HEART OF THE NATION – DEFIBRILLATORS IN THE COMMUNITY

As outlined in our previous Executive Report, Revesby Workers’ Club Ltd provided funding to Heart of the Nation in the 2023 ClubGRANTS scheme to implement several life-saving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) within the local Community in locations where they can be accessed by community members on a 24/7 basis.

When determining where to place these AEDs, we needed to consider things such as accessibility and a location that is highly populated. In light of this, we are putting a call out to our members and community to determine if any businesses, schools, local churches, or residents would be interested in acting as guardian of an AED.

What is involved

Should we receive expressions of interest, we will select approximately 4 recipients (to fund further defibrillators in future ClubGRANTS programs) and arrange for Heart of the Nation to install an AED for you.

We would ask that you as a “Guardian” of the AED help maintain the integrity of the device noting that a guardian is not responsible for any damage, simply ensuring the AED is well kept and report any damage that may occur so Heart of the Nation can assist you in the maintenance of the device.

Community Responders

Should anyone express interest in housing an AED and want to be further involved, you may wish to become a “Community Responder”. By downloading the Heart of the Nation app, you would be set up to receive alerts when an AED is required nearby and can deliver the life-saving machine to a local in the community and potentially save their life.

How do we get involved

If you are interested in finding out more about the Heart of the Nation program and how you can participate, please contact Alysha Green at alyshag@rwc.org.au.

Celebrating Community Spirit

March 19, 2024/in Community, Events /by Julia Vuong

Little Athletics Centre Opening

Revesby Workers Little Athletics Unveils New Home at Kelso North Regional Sporting Precinct.

On March 15th, Revesby Workers’ Little Athletics celebrated their opening of their new facilities at Kelso North Regional Sporting Precinct. The Official opening acknowledged the hard work of Revesby Workers’ Vice president Christine Butters and the committee, who were heavily involved in making this new centre possible. The opening festivities showcased parent races, a tug of war and race from the energetic under 6’s!

Congratulations to Revesby workers’ Little Athletics Centre on their new home!

International Women’s Day 2024

March 11, 2024/in Community, Events /by Julia Vuong

International Women’s Day 2024

Revesby Workers’ is thrilled to share the remarkable success of our recent International Women’s Day event at Miss Iggy’s!

Together with our amazing community, we’ve achieved an incredible outcome for Biyani House Women’s Shelter, raising $24730.31! This marks our largest donation yet from our #IWD2024 fundraising efforts. Thank you to everyone who contributed, from our partners and sponsors to every attendee who made this possible.

These funds will significantly aid Biyani House’s ongoing mission to provide essential short-term emergency accommodation and support, empowering homeless women to rebuild their lives in a safe environment.

School Cheque Presentation 2024

March 6, 2024/in Community /by Julia Vuong

School Cheque Presentation 2024

The Revesby Workers’ School Subsidy program began in 1986 with an allocation of $11,000 distributed among 22 local schools. Over the years, the program has grown significantly to support 28 local schools and since its inception, the program has provided over $2.1 million in funding. This year, the program’s structure has been adjusted to enable schools to apply for additional funding, allowing the schools to undertake more substantial projects.

We congratulate the 14 local schools that were awarded grants, our total school subsidy donation exceeded $65,500.00 this year to support valuable initiatives aimed at enhancing educational programs including new music, exercise and learning initiatives to empower students within our local community.

Broderick Gillawarna School
Brooklyn Public School
Caroline Chisholm Special School
De La Salle College
East Hills Public School
Menai Public School
Mount St Joseph’s Milperra Ltd
Padstow Heights Public School
Padstow North Public School
Padstow Park Public School
Panania Public School
Picnic Point Public School
Revesby Public School
Tower Street Public School

Executive Report February 2024

January 31, 2024/in Community, Directors Report /by Julia Vuong

Dear Members,

We hope our members have enjoyed a lovely start to 2024. For some we are sure Christmas and New Year feel like a distant memory, however, we hope you all enjoyed a lovely festive season.

SCHOOL SUBSIDY PROGRAM

Having commenced as far back at 1986 with very little change to the structure, this year the Board approved a change in structure to the School Subsidy Program.

The School Subsidy program offered by Revesby Workers’ Club commenced back in 1986 when the Club supplied $11,000 to 22 schools in the local district. In 1999 the program had grown to fund 24 local schools with a $1,000 subsidy, a subsidy that was later increased to $2,000 in 2001.

By 2011, the subsidy amount was increased to $3,000 and the Club offered this to as many as 28 local schools, totalling $84,000. The annual subsidies paid to local schools align with the Club’s purpose of being people focused and community proud by contributing to the education of our future.

This year, schools were invited to submit an application to request funding for 2024 with the possibility of applying for as much as $10,000 to fund things such as a school project, a new educational program, a school event, or a sponsorship.

We received 19 applications of which 15 were successful in receiving their full requested amount or a partial grant. Congratulations to the following schools:

Padstow Heights Public School – receiving $3,000 towards mathematics resources;
Mount St Joseph, Milperra – receiving $3,000 towards umbrellas for student outdoor space;
Menai Public School – receiving $3,000 towards main learning displays;
Padstow North Public School – receiving $4,800 towards K-2 Robotics Club;
Caroline Chisholm School – receiving $5,000 towards purchasing 3-wheel bikes ‘Join the Joyride’;
Broderick Gillawarna School – receiving $5,000 towards music lessons;
Tower Street Public School – receiving $6,000 towards a sensory playground project;
Revesby Public School – receiving $3,000 towards a student wellbeing program;
Picnic Point Public School – receiving $5,000 towards Kindergarten iPad upgrade;
Panania Public School – receiving $5,000 towards shelter park seating;
Padstow Park Public School – receiving $4,500 towards outdoor stimulus playground;
East Hills Public School – receiving $2,000 towards their East Hills eats eatery;
East Hills Public School – receiving $1,000 towards Dad’s Group;
Brooklyn Public School – receiving $9,780 towards upgraded seating for the playground;
De La Salle College Revesby – $3,500 towards the purchase of a panel saw for TAS.

HEART OF THE NATION – DEFIBRILATORS IN THE COMMUNITY

As part of the 2023 ClubGRANTS program, Revesby Workers’ Club Ltd provided funding to Heart of the Nation in order to implement a number of life-saving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) within the local community in locations where they can be accessed by community members on a 24/7 basis.

When determining where to place these AEDs, we needed to consider things such as accessibility and a location that is highly populated. In light of this, we are putting a call out to our members and community to determine if any business, schools, local churches or residents would be interested in acting as a guardian of an AED.

What is Involved

Should we receive expressions of interest, we will select approximately 4 recipients (with a view to funding further defibrillators in future ClubGRANTS programs) and arrange for Heart of the Nation to install an AED for you.

Community Responders

How to get Involved

If you are interested in finding out more about the Heart of the Nation program and how you can participate, please contact the Club’s Executive Assistant Tenielle Symington at tenielles@rwc.org.au.

ANZAC DAY 2024

We would like to remind VIPs, Members and Guests of our Anzac Day Ceremony scheduled for 10.30am on Thursday, 25 April 2024. Similar to last year, we are looking forward to the march from Bankstown YMCA through to the Cenotaph at the Tarro Avenue entrance of the Club.

As always, we look forward to seeing our past Directors, Life Members, Patron, Directors, Sub-clubs, schools, community and members in attendance for a National Day of Remembrance.

FUNCTION ROOM RENOVATIONS

As outlined in previous communications our members are well aware of the current renovations taking place in our auditorium and function area. With these renovations expected to take approximately 9 months, our functions team will have the extremely challenging task of finding limited rooms and function space elsewhere throughout the Club to cater for our regular users.

We once again express our gratitude for your patience and understanding during this time as we endeavour to assist as many members and guests as possible.

Daryl Melham AM

PRESIDENT

Scott Bennetts

CEO

Directors Report February 2024

January 31, 2024/in Community, Directors Report /by Julia Vuong

DIRECTORS REPORT FEBRUARY 2024

Welcome to 2024. It seems no time since I was writing this report last year.

In general, 2023 was a better year for most with less sickness, improved weather and more work opportunities for many. It was a tough year for our families with mortgages and we empathise with those struggling with rising interest rates, hopefully there will be a reprieve early in 2024.

Later in this journal you will see information about our annual International Women’s Day event scheduled to take place on 8 March. This year our Marketing team have been working very hard to come up with creative ideas to fit a very different setting. The event will take place in Miss Iggy’s and will be different in format to the sit-down luncheons we have held previously, but I have every confidence the event will be one of entertainment, fun and excitement with all proceeds going to Biyani House, our local Women’s’ Shelter, so please save the date, gather some friends and plan to join in the activity.

For the most part of 2024 our Function Rooms and Auditorium will be out of action as they undergo major renovations and refurbishment. It is hoped work will be complete by October and we will all be able to enjoy a state-of-the-art facility. Many months of planning has gone into this and I know the Functions team have been working hard to try and accommodate all our regular users of these facilities who have been displaced because of the refurbishments. Please be patient and understanding if the temporary arrangements aren’t quite what you are used. Unfortunately, because of this work our Seniors Concerts have been put on hold until next Christmas but I am sure they will be worth waiting for when they return.

It is always positive to hear of the activities from our sub clubs, the summer sporting groups are winding up their seasons as the winter ones take registrations and get ready for another busy year. Apart from our larger sporting groups, we have a number of smaller interest groups running under the auspices of Revesby Workers’ Club. If darts, snooker, spearfishing, native orchids, gardening, public speaking, indoor bowls, hockey, writing or just women’s friendship piques your interest, we have a group for you. Check out the list in the back of the Journal and make contact, it could be the start of a new hobby.

While it seems early to talk about ANZAC Day, this journal covers the period encompassing ANZAC Day and I look forward to welcoming our sub clubs and members to participate in the March and Service on Thursday 25 April. Each year this event gets bigger and reaches out to raise awareness to many in our community. It will also be a poignant day for many at the Club being the first anniversary of the passing of long-term employee Wayne “Rabbit” Steele and I extend my thoughts to his friends and colleagues.

Christine Butters, Vice President

Here we are in 2024 already! 2023 was a huge year for the Club and our management and staff across all facets of our business deserve huge accolades for their outstanding work.

The Christmas break provided time for me to reflect on what a wonderful world we are living in right now, in Australia. The atrocities in Israel and the Gaza Strip and the ongoing war in the Ukraine, with the Russian invasion, surely makes us all think about the individual lives that have been lost and families torn apart.

Within Revesby Workers Club, we have lots of sub-clubs that are run by great volunteers who are committed to enhancing other peoples’ lives. From Little Athletics, Football, Bowls, Cricket – to name a few of the sporting sub-clubs – to the Garden Club, Ladies Group, Toastmasters and other common interest groups – there are lots of opportunities for our members to get involved.

One particular group, for which I am Liaison Director, is the Bankstown Stroke Recovery Group, which meets monthly in the Club. This is an excellent group whose membership is fluid and comprises people who have experienced stroke, others who are carers and anyone else who shares an interest in new developments in assessing the risks, identifying stroke and ongoing updates in treatments. The Executive of this group arranges guest speakers to address most meetings and during 2023 we also had several trips – a morning tea at Headway in Bankstown (another group that work with people with acquired brain injury) and the Ingham Institute at Liverpool Hospital, which undertakes medical research. Visitors are always welcome at their meetings and I would encourage members and their families to come along if you have an interest in finding more about what inroads are being made in preventing, assessing and treating strokes.

Revesby Workers’ Club, through ClubGRANTS, has provided support to the local schools who specialise in the development of students who face intellectual and physical challenges over many years. The teachers and staff at these schools do wonderful work for students with diverse learning needs and are truly dedicated. Prior to Christmas, I was privileged to be invited to attend the Presentation Day at Broderick Gillawarna School and the Year 12 graduation at Caroline Chisholm School. The performances were truly uplifting, and the self confidence that these children have developed through their education is overwhelming.

The Club’s Charity Committee (which I am privileged to Chair) has continued to raise funds to assist the local community, in recent times by purchasing “wish list” equipment for Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital. We are most grateful for the support provided to the Charity by Revesby Workers’ Club through our Friday night meat raffles at the recently renamed Revesby Greens and through ticket sales for Seniors Concerts. We have grown a very loyal group of supporters at our raffles and welcome newcomers! Our (belated) Christmas in July function was lots of fun, as well. During the year the Charity was able to provide $50,000 towards the purchase of a critical ultrasound device to assist during surgery at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital.

As I said, we are truly lucky to live in Australia. We look forward to another great year for Revesby Workers’ Club in 2024.

Christine Benham, Director

Minifit 2024

January 23, 2024/in Community, Events /by Julia Vuong

Minifit 2024

On Tuesday 23 January 2024, local children engaged in our hugely successful 2024 Anthony Minichiello Minifit Clinic! The fun and free educational fitness sessions were booked out, drawing an outstanding turnout at Milperra Reserve hosted by the MiniFit trainers. This year marks the sixth consecutive year that the Revesby Workers’ Club has proudly supported this initiative, actively contributing to raising awareness about the benefits of maintaining an active lifestyle and fostering enduring, healthy habits. Anthony Minichiello designed the program with activities to emphasize the significance of health and fitness and make a tangible change within children’s lifestyles within this digital age, and to have fun and make new friends along the way!