Posts related to 'sports'

Maroondah Rugby Club AGM

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 29th of October, 2008

After the opening of the Westpac Business Centre I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Maroondah Rugby Club which is located at the Griff Hunt Reserve in North Croydon.

The Maroondah Rugby Club has faced a number of challenges, particularly in regard to the condition of the Griff Hunt Reserve. Fortunately Councillor Jo-anne Taylor has been working closely with the club to ensure that the ground is in a condition suitable for rugby.

The Maroondah Rugby Club is hoping to continue in growing its member base and is in the process of establishing a website to assist in promoting the club. While rugby may lack the public profile of Football and Cricket, it is important that Maroondah offers a diverse range of sports to meet a wide range of sporting interests within our community.

2008 Maroondah Business Breakfast with David Parkin

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 29th of October, 2008

The annual Maroondah Business Week breakfast is one of the premiere events of the week, with this year’s event including premiership-winning footballer and coach David Parkin as the keynote speaker.

David spoke about his experience with teams, drawing on his time within the AFL and the need for genuine appraisals and performance reviews to ensure success. Teams need to move in the same direction and while individual members should utilise their key strengths they need to ensure that they work collectively for the benefit of the team.

David cited three key statements to evaluate someone’s contribution including:

• Can I still make a difference?
• Do I still have a passion to make a difference?
• Am I still respected by those that I serve?

In evaluating David’s comments I couldn’t help but think of council and the current divisions which are preventing the municipality from reaching its full potential. While people like myself and Jo-anne have the passion, desire and respect to ensure that we are making a difference, it is unfortunate that the gang of four are preoccupied by their egos, rather than community outcomes.

A total of eleven candidates have nominated for the Mullum Ward and it is clear that a number of these candidates are standing due to a desire by some of the other councillors to oust Jo-anne and myself.

While some of the other councillors appear concerned by the new ward structure, Jo-anne and I are working as a team in our bid to be re-elected. Over the past three years Jo-anne has been incredibly supportive and I strongly believe that a united team is exactly what Maroondah needs to ensure a sustainable, accessible and accountable future.

Rotary Club of Ringwood - supporting regional Victoria

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 22nd of October, 2008

Rotary is an international organisation with over 1.2 million members world-wide. While each local Rotary club operates on an autonomous basis there is tremendous potential for different clubs to work in partnership to advance the principles of Rotary.

Tonight’s meeting included a presentation by Rotarian and Boroondara Councillor Phillip Healy who discussed Boroondara Cares, a community partnership between the Rotary Clubs in Boroondara and Moyne Shire in regional Victoria.

Boroondara Cares was formed to provide ongoing support for the residents of Moira Shire as they seek to deal with the severe economic and social challenges caused by a seven year long drought. While State and Federal Governments in some instances provide emergency relief to drought or flood affected regions, this funding is not ongoing and tends to focus on sudden emergencies, rather than areas that are experiencing ongoing adverse conditions.

Boroondara Cares organises a number of events between the Rotary Clubs of Boroondara and Moyne Shire to provide support and understanding to this drought affected region. Events include food assistance, such as providing two tonnes of rice each month to Moyne Shire, day trips so that Boroondara residents can experience the drought conditions and to enable Moyne residents to visit Melbourne, farm tours and sporting events. In addition, the program builds upon Rotary’s core notion of fellowship by providing support and assistance to farmers experiencing depression due to the lasting drought conditions.

Sharing Communities is the Rotary governance structure that has been developed for Boroondara Cares and also to Stonnington and Nillumbik Cares, which follow a similar model of assisting drought affected regions. The program ensures a partnership approach through involving Rotary clubs within the affected region so that each organisation has an understanding of the type of assistance that is required.

The Boroondara Cares program and the Sharing Communities initiative demonstrates the productive community partnerships and support that can be established through Rotary networks. With 20 drought affected shires within Victoria it is clear that there is scope for similar programs across the State.

The Ringwood Spiders are Making a Difference

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 22nd of October, 2008

The Ringwood Spiders, a football club for people with disabilities, has written a letter to officially support my re-election onto Maroondah City Council. The letter acknowledges the contribution I have made to the Ringwood Spiders, which includes sponsoring one of their players and regularly attending their functions.

I have also offered to develop a website for the Ringwood Spiders and they will be discussing this shortly with the committee. I look forward to continuing my involvement with the Ringwood Spiders and would like to thank them for writing this letter.

View the letter from the Ringwood Spiders

Joulle Calisthenic Academy 2008 Concert

Published by Alex Makin on Sunday 19th of October, 2008

This afternoon I attended Joulle Calisthenic’s sxith annual concert, held at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre. Joulle was established in 2002 and was derived from “joule” to reflect the work, energy and strength required to perform calisthenics.

Joulle has a number of divisions with participants ranging in ages from three to over 26 and after its first year of inception in 2002, it was already launching teams in all divisions. Over this time Joulle has grown from 48 members to over 100 who participate in the dancing, gymnastics, singing and marching that forms calisthenics.

Today’s concert showcased all of Joulle’s divisions and a number of their award winning routines. Joulle has won a number of competitions and its seniors section is currently placed in first division. The enthusiasm and skill that was evident within the performances reflects Joulle’s commitment to building self esteem and confidence in an environment that fosters fun, fitness and friendship.