April 2010 President's newsletter
By the time most of you are reading this newsletter Easter will have arrived. The club will be closed for trading on Good Friday 2nd April but you should be able to enjoy yourselves on the other days. I hope that the Easter bunny (or whoever) visits you with loads of goodies. The kids will be away from school the week following Easter, returning on Monday 12th April – hope you can survive.
This month is also the month that we remember those that have fought for our country and way of life. Ceremonies will be held at Tin Can Bay (dawn and daytime), Cooloola Cove, Rainbow Beach and other parts of the Gympie Region – there is no excuse for not showing your allegiance at one of these venues. After attending the commemoration ceremonies earlier in the day the club will be holding, in conjunction with the local RSL and Lions clubs, the Legacy challenge in golf and bowls. The club, by law, cannot and will not be open until 1pm on ANZAC day Sunday 25th April. There is a declared public holiday, to get over the ceremonies, on Monday 26th April.
The trivia night was held during March and attendances were down on the night with only seven tables showing their vast knowledge of all things trivial. We will be running another night in about 3 month’s time and will gauge the enthusiasm for these nights at that time. At the time of writing the karaoke night was still to be held and I hope all the prima donnas will try for fame at our location.
The restaurant is slowly increasing its patronage with the $9.50 specials following the raffles on Thursday nights, the baked dinner special on Sunday nights and the $9.50 lunch specials on Wednesday. Just remember to show your membership card to receive discounts on other meals.
As a reminder for golfers and bowlers the next charity day will be Sunday 2nd May (May Day holiday weekend) when all funds will be directed to our local organisation Medical Transport. There will also be a huge raffle on the day, similar to previous years, so make sure you mark it in your diary.
Trading. Trading is again slow with people unable to release their purse strings until the money starts flowing again in other areas. We are told that Australia is better off than most other countries and although there is confidence in our economy it is lacking in our spending pattern. Hopefully this will change in the near future and we can get back to enjoying ourselves. The fee structure for the 2010-11 year will be discussed over the next couple of months.
Sport. The “Super Challenge” has been played and unfortunately lost. Our mens team easily won their delayed match against Urangan, finishing second in their group. The ladies showed what they were capable of in their last match beating the previously undefeated Urangan on both rinks. Unfortunately this was not enough to get them to the playoffs. The mens team had to travel to Tewantin Noosa for their playoffs losing 2 – 3 in their first match, losing 1 – 4 in their second and then winning their last match 3 – 2. Congratulations to all those bowling members who took part in this competition. The playoffs held at Tin Can Bay were won by Hervey Bay, a team that only beat our boys 3 – 2.
The men’s golf pennant team have hit a golden patch with a number of wins over the past few weeks and may be in contention for a playoff position if results go the right way. Keep up the good work.
The ladies pennant golf teams have started their competition but I still have to chase up their results. The weather has also affected matches.
At the time of writing Chocka’s Lawn Bowls Day was to be held on Sunday 28th March commencing at 12:30pm. Hopefully the weather held out and all had a great day.
The Golf Easter Carnival will be held over 36 holes on Easter Saturday and Sunday 3rd & 4th April. This carnival attracts a number of visitors from other clubs and should be a close competition.
Developments. The renovated eighteenth green has been opened and used in play for the past couple of weeks, weather permitting.
Staffing. There are a number of new staff that have commenced working with us over the past month. This is due to the imminent departure of Fiona (having another child – should be back in about two weeks time now she knows the routine and hopefully has a break before the child arrives), Sue Nelson (roaming around Australia for some time – hopefully will return when the bug stops biting) and Nicho ( Sues driver for the journey - we will await his stories). The new faces to be seen are Bianca and Nicky who will be sharing their work time in both the bar and the restaurant, and Shayne who will be working behind the bar. After a stint in following his favourite sport of fishing the familiar face of Glen will be seen on the sporting facilities. We hope that they all enjoy being part of our club.
Promotions. Our Friday Night members draw has closed in on the $2000 jackpot mark. Make sure you are at the club for your chance to win it.
See you at the T.C.B. Country Club.
Stephen Wallis.
President TCBCC.