Tag: enjoying planned retirement

The Maroondah Seniors Festival Expo

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The Seniors Festival is held from the 3rd of October through to the 10th and Maroondah holds a range of activities for seniors throughout the festival.

The Seniors Festival is designed to empower seniors and to highlight the activities and groups that focus on the needs of senior residents. This morning I had the pleasure of launching Maroondah’s Seniors Expo, an information day held at Eastland and supported by many of the senior based groups within the municipality.

The speech I provided is available within this entry:

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The 2010 Maroondah Seniors Jazz Concert

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The Maroondah Seniors Jazz Concert, is an annual event organised through the Maroondah Healthy Ageing Network and is now in its second year. The Network comprises of over 30 senior groups and clubs, as well as service organisations and provides ongoing dialogue and collaboration for organisations that focus on the needs of senior citizens within Maroondah.

Today’s concert, which was held at the Ringwood Bowls Club also served as a fundraiser for the Maroondah Hospital, with half the cost of hall hire being donated, as well as raffles. The event, which was booked out, was primarily organised through the Eastern Rangers Retirees Club, National Seniors Australia (Ringwood Branch), Life Activities Club, Enjoying Planned Retirement, and the Ringwood Bowls Club.

The jazz afternoon was an excellent event and provided not only an afternoon of jazz but also provided support for Maroondah Hospital, a major health service provider within the municipality and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Enjoying Planned Retirement – The Final Spotlighters Performance

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Enjoying Planned Retirement is a community group, based at Norwood Hall in Ringwood North, that provides a range of activities for seniors. One of these activities is Spotlighters, an annual musical performance, which is organised by members.

This afternoon I attended the final Spotlighers Performance, which featured a range of musical talents, including tap dancing, musical acts and solo singing performances. All aspects of the performance, including the stage and costumes, are made by members of EPR over the 20 years of Spotlighters Performers.

While this years marks the final performance for Spotlighters, Enjoying Planned Retirement will be providing further performance activities over 2011 and beyond.

Maroondah Leader: Plan to put new hub at reserve

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North Ringwood Community House, is based at 120 Oban Road in Ringwood North and is currently not situated on council land. This limits its ability to secure grants and has resulted in facilities that are unable to meet modern needs.

The Community House recently completed a feasibility study into its relocation, with the report suggesting Norwood Reserve, along Warrandyte in Ringwood North as the preferred location.

The Maroondah Leader has provided an update on the feasibility study and the next steps for this project:

Mayor Alex Makin said council officers would assess the proposed relocation and consult with user groups and report to the council in July.

State and federal funding would be needed, he said.

The community hub proposal will cost several million dollars and as such requires a partnership between local, state and federal governments. The location of Norwood Reserve, would mean that the needs of the existing community groups, including North Ringwood Seniors, Enjoying Planned Retirement, Ringwood U3A, Ringwood Historical Society, Ringwood Arts Society and the North Ringwood Community Children’s Centre, could all be addressed through this project.

Council will be further discussing this proposal in July once an initial assessment has been undertaken. This assessment will consider traffic and building ramifications, as well as initial consultation with existing user groups that are already on the site.

Maroondah Journal: House vision takes shape

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The Maroondah Journal has reported on the completion of North Ringwood Community House’s feasibility study into its relocation.

Mayor Alex Makin said the new site would allow the house to be part of a community house.

“The house is calling on Council to commit to a master plan, which will explore the needs of current users, as well as looking at the needs of North Ringwood Community House.”

The study, which was funded through the State Government, Maroondah City Council and North Ringwood Community House, has recommended Norwood Reserve in Warrandyte Road as the preferred site.

The masterplan will enable Council to develop and holistic approach to Norwood Reserve and the existing facilities.  The site is home to a number of organisations, including the North Ringwood Senior Citizens, Enjoying Planned Retirement, Ringwood U3A, the Ringwood Arts Society, the Ringwood Historical Society and the North Ringwood Children’s Community Centre.

“The house is not located on council land so it restricts the house’s ability to apply for infrastructure grants, not only through council but other levels of government.  This puts them at a severe disadvantage.”

“As a result the house hasn’t been able to expand and that’s really restricted their ability to introduce programs.”

With the changing character of Ringwood and Ringwood North it is imperative that  facilities are able to meet the diverse needs of our municipality.  The feasibility study underpins the importance of the relocation to meet these community needs.

Enjoying Planned Retirement – The 2009/2010 Bocce Season

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Enjoying Planned Retirement (EPR) is based at Norwood Hall along Warrandyte Road and provides a range of activities for Maroondah’s senior citizens. One of the permanent fixtures of the EPR calendar is bocce with today marking the launch of the 2009/2010 bocce season.

The pleasant weather and strong interest ensured a large number of attendees with members playing several rounds of the sport and enjoying a barbecue on the grounds of the Reserve. The friendly atmosphere provides a great opportunity for community members to learn about EPR and its many activities throughout the year.

EPR’s Bocce is held between December and March each year for further details please visit www.enjoywithepr.org.au.

Enjoying Planned Retirement’s Hidden Talents and Dinner Performance

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Enjoying Planned Retirement (EPR) is a seniors based group located at Norwood Hall in Warrandyte Road, Ringwood North. The group, which has over 400 members, organises a diverse range of activities, including the bi-annual Hidden Talents Performance.

Hidden Talents provides an opportunity for the members of EPR to showcase their musical, poetry and theatrical skills in an enjoyable evening entertainment. Tonight’s performance was undertaken in cabaret style, with the evening including a meal between the many acts that performed throughout the night.

Hidden Talents has quickly become a popular fixture on the EPR calendar and it is great to see the many talents that exist within members of the group.

For further details on EPR please visit www.enjoywithepr.org.au

Delegates’ Report: Annual General Meetings and Seniors Week

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This month has marked the beginning of the Spring season for Annual General Meetings, and I had the pleasure of attending the Ringwood Historical Society AGM on the 22nd of September.

The Society documents the history of Ringwood and it is great to see renewed interest in our local history. The Ringwood Historical Society previously met on a quarterly basis, but now meets monthly covering a diverse range of topics within our community.

The Eastern Volunteers Annual General Meeting followed on the 24th of September and I was joined by Cr. Lamont and Cr. Macdonald in attending this event. Eastern Volunteers is continuing to grow strongly and is planning three major events over the course of the next year, its annual Fun Run for March, the return of its community conference in July and a Multicultural Festival planned for October.

The Ringwood Diving Club Annual General Meeting was held on the 11th of October and is a sporting club that encourages participation in diving based at the Ringwood Aquatic Centre.

Several special weeks all seemed to converge in October, including Mental Health Week, Maroondah Business Week and the Maroondah Seniors Festival.

On the 8th of October I attended a presentation on the National Seniors Association. The National Seniors Association is unique in that while it provides a social connection, it also provides significant policy advice and advocacy.

On the 9th of October I attended the Ringwood Bowls Club 80th anniversary and season launch. The Ringwood Bowls Club is a successful sporting club and has a strong community focus. The club has had an emphasis on environmental sustainability through the installation of a water retention system and is also focused on social sustainability, through developing partnerships with community organisations.

One of the partnerships the Bowls Club has developed is with the Ringwood Spiders and is great to see that the Club mentioned the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Night as one of its highlights. The Club is planning further community events including a jazz evening in November and partnerships with Eastern Volunteers.

Lastly, I attended a combined Ringwood U3A, North Ringwood Seniors and Enjoying Planned Retirement Luncheon on Saturday the 17th of October.

It is great to see the members of each group supporting each other and I would like to commend the committee members and members for the holistic view of the facility. In addition, I would also like to commend the council officers that have supported these groups and responded to the concerns that they have raised.

Norwood Hall Users Luncheon

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This afternoon I was invited to a luncheon for the committees of the groups that utilise Norwood Hall, located at Norwood Park along Warrandyte Road in Ringwood North.

Norwood Hall is one of Maroondah’s most highly utilised community buildings and houses several groups including Enjoying Planned Retirement, North Ringwood Seniors and Ringwood U3A. In addition, the Ringwood Arts Society and the Ringwood Historical Society are also located within the facility.

Ringwood U3A, Enjoying Planned Retirement and the North Ringwood Senior Citizens share the main facilities between themselves and with such a large number of users, it is important that the groups are able to cooperate and share facilities.

The luncheon, which is organised in turn by each of the groups, provides an opportunity for committee members to get to know one another and to discuss the aims of each groups. This year’s luncheon was hosted by Ringwood U3A and was extremely successful with each of the three groups speaking about the cooperation that exists within the facility.

While each of the groups do have a different focus, there are shared goals between the groups and it is encouraging to see this cooperation between them.

Open Forum with Enjoying Planned Retirement

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This evening I was invited to speak at Enjoying Planned Retirement’s members meeting to discuss council and my long interest and involvement with one of Maroondah’s largest seniors based groups.

Enjoying Planned Retirement is based at Norwood Hall and shares its facilities with Ringwood U3A and the North Ringwood Senior Citizens. The Ringwood Arts Society and the Ringwood Historical Society are also located as tenants within the building.

Enjoying Planned Retirement provides a diverse range of activities, including bocce, table tennis, card games and day trips.

The open forum provided an opportunity to discuss the group and the hall, as well as the cooperative nature of EPR as it shares facilities with other groups.

I also discussed the plans for the redevelopment of Ringwood, including the ongoing need for advocacy in regard to Ringwood Station. While the current State Government funding is a positive step forward, further commitments are required to ensure an accessible and integrated transport interchange.

I also discussed the feasibility study into the relocation of North Ringwood Community House and the need for continued improvements to our community facilities.

While the transformation of Ringwood will deliver opportunities to provide a community heart for the centre of Ringwood, it is also important that other suburbs retain local facilities that meet community needs.

Enjoying Planned Retirement is an example of a group that meets community needs, through having many members involved in organising activities and participating within the club. This enables the group to hold a diverse of range of activities through sharing the organising and responsibility.

Enjoying Planned Retirement now has a website, for further information please visit www.enjoywithepr.org.au