Month: October 2008

2008 Eastland Women in Business Lunch with Sigrid Thornton

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Maroondah Business Week is an annual event designed to assist Maroondah based businesses through providing information and networking opportunities.

The women in business lunch returned in 2008 with actress Sigrid Thornton who spoke about her experiences in acting, business and community work. Sigrid spoke about the need to remain focused while maintaining a sense of balance to ensure that other priorities are not compromised.

With the lunch coinciding with Pink Ribbon Day, Sigrid discussed her involvement in The Great Walk to Beijing on behalf of the Olivia Newton-John Foundation, as well as other charitable causes including her advocacy work to strengthen the Australian arts.

Alex with guest speaker Sigrid Thornton at the 2008 Eastland Women in Business Lunch

Maroondah Business Week continues until Friday the 31st of October for further information please visit www.bizmaroondah.com.au

Council Nomination for Mullum Ward

Posted on by alex

This afternoon I officially nominated as a candidate for the new Mullum Ward in the upcoming council elections. Maroondah’s elections are conducted via post with ballot papers being distributed during the 11th and 13th of November.

With five other candidates already nominated the council elections could become an interesting contest. I urge residents and ratepayers of Mullum Ward to support my intent to continue making a difference for Maroondah.

My first campaign materials will be distributed to households over the upcoming weekend but please contact me on 9812 2337 or 0409 136 213 or email alex@alexmakin.com.au if you have any questions about my council policies and priorities over the next four years.

Thank you to the many people who have supported my efforts over this current council term and to everyone that has encouraged me to re-nominate for council.

Monkami 2008 AGM

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Monkami is a not for profit service provider based in Croydon, which cares for people with an intellectual disability. Over its 50 years of existence Monkami has had an emphasis on community inclusion to ensure that people with disabilities are provided with opportunities.

Today’s annual general meeting included a presentation from Monkami’s community inclusion officer, a position which receives no source of government funding and is financed by the centre itself. The position was created in response to the Government’s Disability Plan, which has an emphasis on community inclusion for people with disabilities.

Monkami is involved in a number of community projects, including the highly successful Monkami Drama Group, which has performed two seasons of its Titanic Resunk production, as well as partnerships with Croydon Secondary College and Arts Out East, which includes an exhibition from a number of community groups at the end of November.

Monkmai has developed an office administration course, which includes customer service, administrative and computer skills. Through this course Monkami is exploring the possibility of work placements for these students at organisations such as Maroondah City Council to demonstrate the possibilities for people with disabilities.

Organisations such as Monkami help ensure that people with disabilities are included within society and I offer my support to the organisation so that we can achieve an accessible and inclusive community.

Meeting the Skylarkers

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This afternoon I met the Skylarkers, a group of older residents who bring music, song and laughter to elderly citizens. The Skylarkers are a voluntary entertainment group that performs at retirement villages, nursing homes and senior citizen centres.

The Skylarkers received a Maroondah community grants to fund costumes to assist the group’s performances. The group rehearses at the Heathmont Uniting Church at 83 Canterbury Road and has already booked shows for most of next year.

The Skylarkers always welcome new talent so for contact details please email glenchandler@bigpond.com

Rotary Club of Ringwood – supporting regional Victoria

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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

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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

Maroondah Business Week 2008 – Sustain and Grow your Business

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Maroondah Business Week will run from from October 27-31 with the theme of Grow and Sustain Your Business.

Highlights include presentations from Sigrid Thornton at the Eastland Women in Business Lunch to be held on Monday the 27th of October, David Parkin at the NAB Business Breakfast on Wednesday the 29th of October and Jen Harwood who is returning to hold a business networking event.

Topics include access to finance, getting started in small business, time management skills and developing a web presence. An information session will also be held on transforming walkers into shoppers, an important topic given the effects that rising petrol prices have had in encouraging sustainable transport, such as walking.

Business Week concludes with the QIC Cocktail Function on Friday the 31st of October, which will welcome new businesses and celebrate businesses that have been operating for more than 30 years within Maroondah.

For more information on Maroondah Business Week please visit www.bizmaroondah.com.au

Delegates' Report: celebrating our history, supporting our sporting clubs, cultural events, volunteers and community houses

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On the 23rd of September I attended the Ringwood Historical Society’s AGM. The Society meets each month at Federation Estate with the aim of preserving our heritage for the future. The society has developed extensive archives over its 50 year history and is one of the oldest historical society’s within the eastern suburbs.

In fact the Ringwood Historical Society celebrates its 50th birthday this month and I encourage the community to attend its 50th birthday celebrations on the 28th of October from 8pm at Federation Estate.

On the 26th of September I attended the Ringwood Bowls Club Season Launch. The occasion marked the beginning of the bowls season and also coincided with their water sustainability project.

Ringwood Bowls Club has been part of Ringwood’s history since 1929 and its current membership and executive are determined to ensure that it has a sustainable future. The bowls club has embarked on a project to install water tanks and rainwater retention systems to water its two grass greens. The club is in fact the first bowling green to retrofit its facilities for water sustainability.

It was encouraging to see all levels of government work together to achieve this outcome. A combination of Federal, State and council grants have assisted in providing the funding for this project to be undertaken. I congratulate the club on its foresight and its commitment to a sustainable future.

From the 3rd to the 5th of October I attended a number of events as part of the Maroondah Writers and Readers Festival. As some of you may recall, I’ve spoken previously about the Festival steering committee, and as a member of this committee it was great to see the positive public reception and involvement in the festival. We had a steering committee meeting this morning and Eastern Regional Libraries, as well as the community members were all amazed at the success of this inaugural event. Next year the festival will probably comprise of a series of events to cover a range of writing genres and to build on some of the community partnerships that were formed during this event. I am sure that details will be forthcoming once they are available and the events are organised.

I would like to thank the many people that attended events during the weekend and also to the hardworking people that were involved in preparing and organising the festival.

On the 8th of October I attended the Eastern Volunteers AGM with Cr. Jo-anne Taylor. Eastern Volunteers provides volunteer recruitment and transport services for the frail aged and people with disabilities. Eastern Volunteers is based in Ringwood and it is amazing to see how much they have grown since their inception in 1976. The organisation is currently renting a premises in New Street, Ringwood and its current priority is to purchase accommodation that will ensure it has a sustainable future in the longer-term.

Eastern Volunteers has established a building fund to assist with this project and will be embarking on a process to raise the funds necessary. All donations made to the Building Fund are tax deductible.

On the 10th of October I had the pleasure of opening Enjoying Planned Retirement’s annual Art and Craft Festival, along with Cr. Jo-anne Taylor. The festival, now its third year, provides an appropriate conclusion to the Maroondah Seniors Festival, as it is celebrates the many talents of Marondah’s seniors. EPR is an incredibly active organisation and the support and activities they provide for members is amazing.

Lastly, this morning and at quite a few times over the past month I have met with North Ringwood Community House to assist in their grant application for funding into a feasibility study to identify a new location for the services the community house provides. I am pleased to say that work on the application is advancing rapidly and we will be submitting the application to State Government shortly.

Community houses facilitate social connectedness and North Ringwood Community House, as a Registered Training Organisation also provides TAFE accredited courses to assist in providing new skills for the community. The house after 30 years has outgrown its current location and premises and this grant will begin the process in finding a new site.

I would like to thank the staff members who have assisted in the house with information and also to Cr. Jo-anne Taylor for writing a letter of support for this application.

Maroondah Writers and Readers Festival – final meeting for 2008

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This morning I attended the final meeting of the Maroondah Writers and Readers Festival for 2008. The meeting discussed the feedback and community response to the inaugural Maroondah Writers and Readers Festival and to decide on the future of the event.

It was encouraging to see a strong community response to the festival demonstrating community support for the continuation of the event. As a result the committee decided that the festival should return in 2009 but will comprise of a series of regular events throughout the year. This will allow the festival to cover a diverse range of genres and writing styles and to encourage an ongoing community involvement in literature and writing.

Thank you to everyone that assisted in preparing for the Festival and to the many members of the community that attended the events.

Joulle Calisthenic Academy 2008 Concert

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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.