Dear Members,

We hope you all enjoyed a lovely festive season and holiday period. Whether you hosted Christmas or if you visited family, holidayed interstate or overseas, we hope you started 2023 in a positive way.

WELCOME DAVID RAPER AND LINDA DOWNEY

Following the retirement of John Rodwell and Ian Stromborg OAM at the conclusion of the 2022 Annual General Meeting, the results of the election for Board of Directors was announced confirming that David Raper and Linda Downey would be joining the Board of Directors at Revesby Workers’ Club.

David has been a member of Revesby Workers’ Club for over 35 years and was previously the Vice President of the Revesby Workers’ Men’s Bowling Club until his commencement on the Board. Born and raised in Revesby, David Raper now resides locally in Panania and has done so for the last 15 years. David has taken over the Liaison Director duties for the Revesby Workers’ Billiards and Snooker Club, Revesby Workers’ Darts Club and Revesby Workers’ Spearfishing Club.
Linda is no stranger to the Club having been awarded Life Membership on 27 October 2019. Linda is a Councillor of Canterbury Bankstown City Council and served as the Mayor of Bankstown in 2014-2015 and Deputy Mayor in 2021. Linda is a careers advisor at a local High School and has been associated with Revesby Workers’ Club for many years.

It must be recognised that with the addition of Linda to the Board of Directors, it is the first time in not only the Club’s history but also amongst large Clubs in NSW that female Directors outnumber the males.

We have welcomed both David and Linda to the  Board and hope you join us in congratulating them and wishing them all the best for their term.

NEW CLUB VICE PRESIDENT

Following the AGM in October last year, the Board elected Christine Butters as Vice President unopposed to replace John Rodwell. While Christine has said on a number of occasions that she believes she has big shoes to fill, we are extremely confident that the right person for the position has been appointed.

Christine Butters was elected to the Board on 29 September 2010. Her service not only to the Club but to the community is immeasurable. Christine is the Liaison Director for Revesby Workers’ Garden Club, Revesby Workers’ Ladies Group, Senior Athletics, Marine Rescue, Mooney Mooney Bowls Club and Money Mooney Fishing Club. Christine is also our Liaison Director for the Mooney Mooney Club and she holds strong ties with staff and members in that area.

Christine is a Life Member not only of Revesby Workers’ Club but also the Revesby Workers’ Little Athletics Club where she is also the President. Her dedication and support for all things community made it a very easy decision to elect her as the Vice President to recognise her tenure to date. Her passion for the Club and its members will ensure a very positive future for the Revesby Workers’ Group.

SCHOOL SUBSIDY PROGRAM

As outlined in our last Journal, the cheque presentation ceremony for our school subsidy program took place on 7 November 2022. Our Directors had the privilege of providing the $3,000 subsidy to each local primary and high schools in the local area. These donations help fund key projects and/or initiatives in our local schools which benefit students from kindergarten all the way through to Year 12. We would like to thank those who attended the cheque presentation ceremony and look forward to seeing them again next year and determining what they plan to use their 2023 funding on.

CLUB RENOVATIONS

In recent times it has been our goal to offer a wider range of venues to introduce a new demographic into the Club while maintaining and improving current areas of the Club for our regular longstanding members. With the opening of Rogues Sports Bar occurring on 14 December 2021, renovations to the gaming floor and Miss Iggy’s commenced shortly thereafter, with the main gaming floor aiming for a completion date in April 2023.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful staff involved in the numerous renovations throughout the Club in 2022 and into the early part of 2023. These projects are not completed by a handful of staff, they require input from all areas of the business. From Marketing, Food and Beverage, Gaming, Maintenance, IT through to Operations. Our Senior Managers and their teams contribute significantly to the work and without their contribution, the renovations and opening of new outlets in the Club would not be possible.

We continually look to improve our Club for our members and guests and are very excited to see the hard work pay off as these new venues open. Looking to the future, we have plans to undertake a much needed upgrade to our Auditorium and Functions area in 2024 and will provide more detail as the scoping of the project commences.

New Board

By the time you read this the Club will have held its biennial election and will have a new Board of Directors for the next two years. A couple of us familiar faces will not be there. By the annual general meeting in late October, I will have served 15 years as a Director and twelve as Vice-President. I am happy to hand over to two new Directors whom I am sure will join with the re-elected Directors to do a sterling job as custodians of the Club’s traditions and progressive program. It has been an honour and a pleasure to represent the members of the Club and to contribute to the development of the facilities and services which I believe are second to none. No institution can do everything, so the Board must make regular decisions on what is in the members’ best interests overall and allocate the Club’s substantial financial and human resources into those areas which have most need and will have most impact.

60th Anniversary

On Saturday 10th September the Club celebrated its 60th anniversary with a wonderful night of dinner and entertainment in the iconic Whitlam Theatre. President Daryl Melham had energetically contacted the families of our foundation office bearers and members to ensure representatives were present, including the daughter of our first president, Jack Dickens, and family of Brien Higgs, our first Secretary Manager.

Current and past staff joined with representatives of our sporting clubs and interest groups as well as a cross-section of members of the Club. All who attended were given a 60th anniversary souvenir keyring and a USB/thumb drive, containing the full club history, True to our Traditions, by Gary Lester, produced for our 50th anniversary, and a supplement covering the past 10 years. If anyone wishes to purchase any extra USBs containing the history book or any further keyrings, they can be purchased at Reception at the Tarro Ave entrance. The drives cost $2, with the proceeds being donated to the Asbestos Diseases Research Foundation. Keyrings cost $5, with proceeds being donated to the Bill Bullard Charity Committee.

Liaison with Sub-Clubs

Directors of the Club have a number of roles. As officers of a registered company, preparation for and attendance at Board meetings is the most formal and important. I estimate that in my 15 years I have attended well over 200 such meetings, ranging from the regular monthly meetings to extraordinary meetings, such as on planning, required from time to time. Membership of sub-committees is also important, both standing ones like the Scholarships Committee, or short-term and ad hoc. However, the most enjoyable role is looser and that is liaising with the many sporting and special interest sub-clubs. I have been fortunate to be associated with a number over my 15 years, and again it has been a privilege to be able to assist the committee members and general members of these groups.

Sporting clubs we all know as one of the backbones of our communities but less known are the special interest groups which provide recreational activities and support for so many. These are sometimes quite small and autonomous, while others have wider affiliations. I do not wish to leave others out, but I mention as examples of diversity the Revesby Writers’ Group, the Stroke Support Group, and the Australian Native Orchid Club. The unsung heroes of our community are the office bearers of these such groups, who along with the committees of sporting clubs, put in so much voluntary work. I have made many contacts among the members of our subclubs and, if I miss anything about no longer being a Board member, it will be the regular communication with them.

The Future

Revesby Workers’ Club is in the capable hands of a united and progressive Board, and a strong, committed management team. I hope to maintain informal contact with them and the many members of the Club I have got to know. I am extremely proud to be a Life Member and thank the members for their support over a significant and enjoyable period of my life. Lastly, I must thank my wife Rose-Marie who has put up with
my many absences, at meetings and functions, daytime, evenings, and weekends. If I ever dared to complain, she told me bluntly that I enjoyed it all. She was right. She may yet regret my having more free time.