The Ringwood Bowls Club is based at 2-12 Loughnan Road in Ringwood and features two grass and one synthetic green. The Club holds regular activities throughout the year including its Community Connect, which brings together corporate and community supporters of the Club.
This evening the Club held its Sponsorship Appreciation Night to acknowledge the many businesses that provide support to the Club. The Ringwood Bowls Club has installed new screens to provide information on its sponsors and firmly believes that sponsorship is a partnership between organisations. The Club provides several benefits for sponsors including advertising and participation in club events, which provides networking and promotional opportunities.
Sponsorship provides vital support for the Ringwood Bowls Club and it is encouraging to see the Club create genuine partnerships with its sponsors. For further information on the Ringwood Bowls Club please visit www.ringwoodbowls.asn.au.
North Ringwood Community House is located at 120 Oban Road, located at the rear of the Holy Spirit Primary School in Ringwood North. The North Ringwood Community House is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and offers a range of accredited courses, as well as adult education and social groups.
As a community based organisation, North Ringwood Community House is overseen by a voluntary committee of management and this afternoon the organisation held its annual meeting to elect committee members for the next twelve months. While I was previously a committee member of the North Ringwood Community House, I have chosen not to seek re-nomination and have resigned from the committee.
While I enjoyed being a committee member of North Ringwood Community House, changes to the Local Government Act, prevent a Councillor from formally discussing matters involving an organisation, where they are part of its decision making body. As a consequence, this has meant that I was unable to discuss the community house within formal council meetings.
Given these changes to the Local Government Act, I believe I will be better able to advocate for the community house if I was no longer a member of the committee of management.
During the past twelve months North Ringwood Community House prepared a new business plan and completed the feasibility study exploring potential sites for the organisation and its services. The study identified Norwood Reserve along Warrandyte Road as the preferred site and Council will now able undertaking an assessment of this location, including consultation with existing users and exploring the traffic implications.
This assessment is expected to be completed by July, when Council will discuss the findings with the North Ringwood Community House.
The North Ringwood Community House, located at 120 Oban Road, Ringwood North, is a community owned and managed centre which provides a diverse range of courses and educational opportunities for our community.
One of the strengths of the house is the provision of accredited Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses within a supportive, friendly and nurturing environment. The community house also provides a creche and occasional care.
The Committee of Management oversees the development of the community house and establishes a strategic direction for the facility. I was a member of the committee between 2007 and March 2010, when I resigned due to changes in the Local Government Act, which hampers the ability of Councillors to advocate for organisations when they are a member of a committee.
The main priority for the committee and staff is to find a new location so that the community house can continue to provide a range of courses and services for the local community.
Eastern Volunteers is a not-for-profit organisation that provides volunteer assistance, as well as community transport for the frail aged and people with disabilities. The organisation aims to strengthen volunteering by providing training services and assistance in recruiting and placing volunteers within other community based associations.
Eastern Volunteers is also heavily involved in community transport solutions and provides a range of transport services for home and community care (HACC) eligible clients to assist in enhancing social inclusion and reducing isolation. The organisation is also involved in programs which aim to look at how community transport can augment public transport and taxi services. Eastern Volunteers is planning three major events this year, including its Fun Run in March, a Business Dinner and a Regional Conference in August.
Eastern Volunteers was formed in 1976 and has 14 part-time staff with approximately 100 volunteers to assist in service delivery. A voluntary board of management oversees the policies and strategic direction of the organisation. I have been a member of the board of management since July 2008.
The City of Maroondah on Monday welcomed incoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frank Dixon to his first day with Council.
Mayor of Maroondah, Cr Alex Makin, extended a warm welcome to Mr Dixon on behalf of Council staff and the community.
“Frank brings with him 28 years of local government experience, including four years as General Manager (equivalent of CEO) of Launceston City Council,” Cr Makin said.
“His broad-based experience will ensure Maroondah remains well placed to deal with the challenges and opportunities we will encounter in coming years,” Cr Makin said.
“Frank has a passion for making a difference in the community and is looking forward to bringing that passion to Maroondah,” Cr Makin said.
“My fellow councillors and I are looking forward to working closely with him,” Cr Makin said.
Prior to Mr Dixon’s work with Launceston City Council, he was with Hume City Council for 12 years, where he held a number of positions including Corporate Director – Resident Services, Director Strategy and Organisation Development and as Executive Director (Deputy CEO).
Mr Dixon holds a Graduate Diploma of Arts (Recreation), Diploma of Management, and Master of Business Administration. He also holds an Advanced Company Director’s Diploma, and is a Fellow, with the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
One of my priorities as the Mayor for the next twelve months is to encourage community participation. The Maroondah Journal has reported on these aims:
Maroondah’s new mayor has called on the community to become more involved in its own future. Cr Alex Makin, who was elected mayor at a special meeting last Wednesday, said that far too often residents waited until something directly impacted them to become involved.
The community has a critical role in helping shape the priorities of council through contacting their elected Councillors and attending council meetings. This ensures that council is accountable to the public and is reflecting the views of the wider community.
He said residents’ role was much broader and included the right and opportunity to hold the council accountable at all times.
“Some may think voting in council elections is the only way for them to participate, but civic responsibility can extend to being a vital presence when council conducts its business.”
Civic involvement will lead to a higher level of participation within our community and help convey a sense of values for the City of Maroondah.
He also called on the community to reflect on its values and to work to impart them on others to prevent “tragic” acts of vandalism, such as the burning down of the Ringwood Miners Cottage last month.
As a council we must focus on the long-term sustainability of Maroondah and our community. The decisions we will be making during this term of council, including the redevelopment of Council and our community facilities, will continue to be felt well into the future.
It was humbling to be in a position where I could help shape the future of the area where I have lived since he was two.
“We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to ensure we get things right with the transformation of Ringwood into a vibrant, sustainable and accessible urban centre.” Cr Makin said.
Please continue visiting my website or follow me on Facebook and Twitter to discuss your visions for the City of Maroondah.
I would like to sincerely thank my colleagues for their support and confidence in me as we enter the 2010 Council Year and I begin my term as the Mayor of Maroondah.
The changeover of the Mayor from Cr. Peter Gurr to myself
It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be able to serve with such distinguished colleagues, all of whom have such a wide range of skills and experience. I look forward to this year as we strive to deliver the very best for the Maroondah community. We need to harness the collective experiences and skills of the people around this table and our community as we consider the decisions we will make in the oncoming year and beyond.
The challenge we need to set ourselves is to ensure that the decisions we make today are not regretted by future generations or future councils. We need to ensure that the decisions we make today are the ones that ensure the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our community into the future. We must not leave a legacy where in people in 10 or 20 years or beyond wonder about the choices we made today.
Tomorrow is the International Day for People with Disabilities and this serves as a reminder of the need to create a society where everyone can fully participate in civic, commercial, recreational and residential opportunities.
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to ensure that we get things right with the transformation of Ringwood into a vibrant, sustainable and accessible urban centre. I look forward to working with all levels of government to achieve this vision. Our community expects government to work in cooperation so that we can achieve the best outcomes for our municipality. It is through a collective vision that we can harness the full potential of governments working together to achieve positive outcomes for the community.
Alex delivering his acceptance speech for the 2010 Mayoral Year
I’ve lived in Ringwood since I was two years old, so my memories of growing up are centred around Ringwood and Maroondah, to be in a position where we can shape the future is one that is humbling and I want to ensure that our future generations respect the decisions that we make today.
While the transformation of Ringwood is obviously an exciting project, the City of Maroondah covers many suburbs and we need to ensure that all of our communities and their aspirations are heard and considered.
We also need to be mindful of the many community organisations that are in need of additional accommodation within Maroondah. The strength of a municipality can be measured by the vibrancy of the community organisations within it and we need to ensure that our actions take into account the need for community organisations to grow and develop so they continue to meet the needs of our municipality.
I am truly appreciative of the many community organisations that are present this evening, many of you have been with me during the highs and lows of council and I thank you for your ongoing support and for celebrating that occasion with us. Likewise, I extend my ongoing appreciation to my family who are here tonight and have stood by me during election campaigns and years of council. While the experience of being on council has been extremely positive, there have been times where it has been difficult; and it has been this support from my colleagues, family and the community that has kept me going.
Alex being inaugurated as the Mayor on the 2nd of December 2009
Approximately a fortnight ago the Ringwood Miners Cottage was tragically destroyed by vandals. We need to stop and reflect on the values of our community and work towards creating a civic pride that collectively demonstrates that such malicious destruction will not be tolerated.
We can only do this if we discuss the values that the Maroondah community holds true and I ask each of us to reflect on what it means to live within this municipality. We need to begin a narrative and a discussion about these values and ensure that we hold these principles true to ourselves and to others. I ask each of you to let me know how you would describe the values of Maroondah.
Many people know about my passion for technology. Let us embrace new technologies to lead this discussion and to encourage people to contribute to our community. Please send me your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, my website or via phone.
These values will not be defined overnight but we should start this discussion and lead in creating this narrative and ensuring we have an inclusive and welcoming society.
Alex delivering his inauguration speech as Mayor on the 2nd of December 2009
In coming weeks I will be asking my colleagues to discuss their visions for Maroondah over the next twelve months. I want to ensure that we have a council that is focused on outcomes and on the wellbeing of our community.
I look forward to achieving these outcomes with my colleagues, as well as the corporate management team and staff of this council.
In closing I would like to thank our outgoing Mayor Peter Gurr for serving the City as Mayor over the past twelve months. I look forward to the future and I look forward to working in harmony with my colleagues, staff and the community as we plan and deliver for the future.
The second day of the Eastern Volunteers Community conference explored the themes of managing volunteers, volunteering diversity, as well as supporting people with mental illness and engaging community engagement.
The conference opened with an address by the Victorian Council of Social Services, which explored the challenges in creating social inclusion during economic uncertainty. The presentation highlighted the difficulties the community sector is facing, particularly in regard to ensuring funding certainty and maintaining a focus on the core vision of an organisation.
I delivered a plenary session focused on harnessing the changing times faced by community organisations through embracing technology and building capacity through governance and professional development.
There is a need for strong governance and consistent policies that are supported through the adherence of procedures. All levels of government, as well as many philanthropic organisations, are expecting increasing levels of governance and accountability from the not-for-profit sector.
Strong governance is critical to creating an environment that harnesses the potential of an organisation and fosters its development. This creates a positive environment for volunteers, as well as staff and board members.
Data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics demonstrates that less are volunteering on a per capita basis and that they are volunteering less of their time. In addition, there is a substantial gap between the rate of volunteering within rural areas versus our capital cities, with volunteering being less common in urban centres.
This demonstrates the strength of community identity, which is more commonplace within rural areas. Given that establishing this sense of community is more difficult within largely homogeneous urban centres, there is a need for innovation.
This is where community organisations need to explore the use of technology, such as interactive websites, using Web 2.0 technology like blogs and Facebook, to establish a new sense of community. Virtual communities are particularly useful in recruiting younger volunteers, who are often seeking opportunities to further their experiences within particular projects.
Younger people tend to be project focused rather than organisational focused and as a result community organisations need to tailor the way they attempt to recruit volunteers.
Technology such as wikis, which allows editable content, can be utilised to retain knowledge within an organisation through encouraging staff and volunteers to document their experiences and freely share information.
The use of technology should not increase the workload of an organisation, but instead should help automate some tasks. As an example, web based content management systems, can replicate web-content onto social networking tools such as Facebook, encouraging interactivity without requiring duplication or increasing workloads.
The conference concluded with positive feedback and a desire from participants for further events. There is strong interest in the sharing of knowledge and it was great that the participants found the conference to be informative and useful.
I have recently formed a consultancy service to assist organisations in meeting the challenges of these changes times. For a copy of the presentation I delivered at the Eastern Volunteers Community Conference please visit my consultancy site at www.alexmakin.org.
Alex Makin, Councillor for the Mullum Ward in Maroondah City Council, has published his 1000th blog post documenting his activities as a local councillor.
“I have utilised my Council blog to document the many community events that I have attended during my time as a local Councillor”, Cr. Makin said. “The use of the Internet can further encourage members of our community to contact their local representatives and become involved in local events”
Cr. Alex Makin has operated a website with a regularly updated blog since 2005, at www.alexmakin.com.au. Alex utilises the blog to publish details of community events and council activities.
“Local council is the closest of government to the community and it is critical that councillors embrace technology so that they remain contactable and approachable. The use of the Internet complements other forms of communication so that we can continue to assist members of our community”, Cr. Makin said.
Alex has recently published his 1000th blog entry, with an average of 250 posts per year. The blog receives regular community feedback via email and interactive comments.
“In particular the Internet enables younger people and people with disabilities to contact their local councillor. Reaching 1000 posts demonstrates the commitment I have to being approachable and I plan to continue documenting the many events I attend as a Councillor,” Cr. Makin concluded.
About Alex Makin:
Alex Makin was first elected onto Maroondah City Council in November 2005 and was re-elected in November 2008. Alex is one of Australia’s first council bloggers with a regularly updated website and blog at www.alexmakin.com.au.
ALL MEDIA ENQUIRIES: CR. ALEX MAKIN ON 0408 311 645
To my knowledge I am the only elected representative within Australia to use Linux and open source software such as KDE, Kontact, Openoffice.org and Firefox for my day-to-day computing requirements.
I choose to use Linux and open source software since I find it more responsive and stable than a Windows based system. Linux is an open source operating system that is available in various forms known as distributions.
Linux and the majority of software that operates on it are provided free of charge and are designed as well as supported through active community participation.
While there is undoubtedly a learning curve when trying anything new, Linux distributions such as OpenSUSE and Kubuntu tend to be extremely user friendly. Linux support for hardware continues to increase and there are many free programs that can easily replace existing Windows based software.
In addition, Linux tends to not have the security and virus issues that are far to commonplace within a Windows based environment.
While Linux and open source software may not be for everyone, I believe there is tremendous opportunity for the non-profit and community sector to investigate the use of Linux within their organisations.
The free cost of Linux and associated programs combined with the fact that it can still easily and efficiently operate on older computer hardware means it has the potential to reduce IT costs.
While there may be a requirement for initial training and configuration, this can be offset by reducing the cost of purchasing new software and hardware.
Free software such as Openoffice.org provides an easy to use Office suite and is largely compatible with Microsoft Office. Mozilla Firefox provides a more secure Internet browser than Internet Explorer and Kontact provides a full suite of information services, including a calendar, notes, email and address book features.
Linux provides a choice of graphical desktop environments and KDE with its associated applications exceeds the features and stability found within Windows XP and Vista. XFCE is another desktop environment and is well suited towards older computers that may still be present within an organisation.
If there are Windows based programs that an organisation is reliant upon, there is a program known as WINE which can allow such software to still operate within Linux.
I recently switched from OpenSUSE to Arch Linux, which is a distribution designed to be highly flexible and customisable. While Arch Linux requires more time to customise than other distributions, it does have the advantage of being extremely fast and stable.
Alternatively, distributions such as OpenSUSE and Kubuntu provide an easy to install and operational Linux environment with minimal need for customisation.
The use of Linux with its potential to reduce IT costs is certainly worth exploring.
