Liam leads a great bunch of blokes
Newly elected president of Cobram Barooga Apex Club Liam Gilmour is proud to be part of one of the strongest Apex clubs in Australia and where its members are like a second family to him.
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“They are a great bunch of blokes and everyone works hard for the community and despite being hampered by COVID restrictions at times over the past two-and-a-half years, we have had a good year,” said Liam.
Over the last weekend in June, the club held its popular annual event, the Koonoomoo Pickers and Packers Charity Ball.
“It was huge and a massive money spinner. It also brought more than $200,000 of business into the town and district,’’ Liam said.
It takes six-12 months of planning each year and with 1200 attendees, it pays its way but this year in the two weeks prior to the event we sold 1500 tickets just from Facebook.
Amazingly 2400 tickets were sold, indicating that electronic media connects people. It was a wild time, but people behaved pretty well,” added Liam with a laugh.
The 20 active Apexians have built a new pavilion out at the Koonoomoo Reserve and plan to donate further to improve the facilities while looking ahead at where they can do the most good for the community through their willingness to make a difference.
Other activities have included Ride on Lawn Mower Races which is very popular with families, assisting Strathmerton Lions to conduct their massive fishing competition, Anzac Day dawn service and on November 12, club members will conduct the Neighborhood Watch safety plate day.
“We are always looking to be involved in community projects and are currently in discussion and planning with Moira Shire and the Cobram Rotary Club in regard to the future of the old caravan park in Punt Rd, adjacent to the swimming pool,” said Liam.
“You get out as much as you put in,” he said.
Liam praised his fellow members for the time and efforts they put into raising funds which go back into the community.
Two club members were presented with special awards at the recent change-over dinner:
- Dedicated Dan — Awarded to Matt Triffitt for his efforts in putting his best foot forward throughout the entire year, particularly as chair of the P ‘n’ P Charity Ball, a massive task; and
- Service Award — Awarded to Peter French for being unbelievably generous with his time and providing a total of 132 hours of valuable contribution to club activities.
Liam joined Apex Club in 2019 and is an electrician with Cobram Electrical and Data. He loves his job and the town of Cobram and joined Apex when his dad Andrew was still a member. For many years, Apexians were forced to retire at the age of 40.
However, it’s a different era today and members can stay on until the age of 45 years, in the 41 Club and enjoy their prime active years.
Second-generation members Brad Connelly and Jack Foley have followed their dads’ Pat and Stephen alongside Liam Gilmour and his dad Andrew as passionate members of the club.
Founded in 1958, the Cobram Barooga Apex Club has a rich history and today has its own clubhouse in Terminus St, Cobram.
It enjoys close links with International clubs in South Africa and Wales and within the next six months two members will head off to visit sister clubs in each of the two countries.
New dad Scott Gleeson will travel to Wales in September and president Liam Gilmour heads off to Pretoria, South Africa in April 2023.
“It’s one of the highest honours for an Apexian to be selected to take part in one of the overseas trips.
“To have an opportunity to meet people of a different culture and share ideas and experiences will be very exciting,’’ said Liam.
Junior public speakers show their ability
Children from Strathmerton and Katunga primary schools showed they have gained confidence in speaking publicly while competing at the recent Strathmerton Lions Club’s Junior Public Speaking Competition.
The students exhibited a high standard in public speaking and Year 6 student Hadassah Hibma from Katunga Primary was judged the winner with the topic, A famous person of the 19th century.
Hadassah spoke of Clara Barton, a nurse who founded the American Red Cross.
Runner-up was Kade Rodgers, Year 5 student, also from Katunga, who spoke of James Naismith, a physical education teacher who invented the game of basketball for his students during winter when they were unable to play outdoors, owing to heavy snowfalls.
In Years 3 and 4, the winner was Indianna Brennan of Katunga Primary who spoke of New York, a place she would love to visit, while runner-up was Anna Victoria Mendoza who fancied a visit to Queensland. Anna attends Strathmerton Primary School.
The winners will now compete against other junior speakers at the zone final in Yarrawonga.
St Kilda film festival in Cobram
Moira Arts and Culture Inc will present the St Kilda Film Festival for the eighth year at the Cobram Community Cinema on Tuesday, August 23.
Always eagerly looked forward to, the festival is proudly produced by the City of Port Phillip and supports the Australian film industry by turning the spotlight on exceptional films by emerging talent and short works by accomplished industry professionals.
Accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the St Kilda Film Festival is an Academy Awards qualifying event.
The St Kilda Film Festival will hit the road taking the best of the festival to destinations throughout Victoria on its state tour.
For those who attended the event last year, the evening offers a curated screening of a selection of Australia’s top short films, presented across two sessions — Award Winners and Director’s Choice.
Tickets are $20 per person which includes a delicious supper at interval.
Book your tickets with TryBooking.
2000 trees to help koalas at Dutch Thunder
It was a Community Tree Planting Day at Koonoomoo and school groups and families came over a period of days to help wildlife warriors Kylee Donkers and James Leonard with their plans to ensure there would always be a constant supply of feed for koalas at Dutch Thunder Wildlife Shelter.
“The support for the day and the days prior has been amazing,” Ms Donkers said.
“We had local schools and pre-schools and on Sunday lots of families came along to help out planting 2000 trees, grasses and shrubs.
“We are so grateful to our community and the help they give us, we even had the Bunnings team from Yarrawonga put on a free barbecue for volunteers which was fantastic and very popular.”
It was wonderful to see so many young families going along, getting their hands dirty and thoroughly enjoying themselves, including Tocumwal residents Jayne and Damien Black and their young son Dustin, 19 months, who was a willing little helper.
Not only will the plantings provide feed for the koala population, their continued growth will provide a safer environment for our local native wildlife for years to come.