Where has the time gone?! Semester 2 is with us already. Our newest group, Spanish, commences on Saturday 6 July from 10am to 12 noon. If you would like to find out more about this group, please contact Anne on 0438 447 379. Enjoying the Internet is returning on the third Tuesday from 10am to 12 noon, while Chess, Lifeball and the Recorder group are actively seeking new members.
The past few months have seen the passing of two U3A members who each took part in the life of U3A Benalla for over a decade. Joan Vance A long-term member of the Politics and Current Affairs group, Joan Vance had a particular interest in issues surrounding Health and Education, often reminding the class of their importance Joan loved to read and was a member of Page Turners (formerly E-books) for many years. A skilled 500 player, Joan and her cards partner Patsy Bollard were known as a force to be reckoned with if playing against them at Cards 500! A former nurse and passionate and determined advocate for people with a disability, Joan drew on her own experience of a chronic condition to work to improve outcomes for people in Benalla with disabilities. We will miss her friendly smile and sharp intellect. Jennifer Campbell A member of U3A for over 10 years, avid reader and member of Page Turners, Jennifer Campbell, passed away suddenly on May 11 2024. Vale Jenny Campbell It was with much sadness that we learned of Jenny’s passing. She was a valued member of our book group for many years, both when Helen Scheller was organising it and later when we regrouped under the name Page Turners. We enjoyed her insightful comments and love of books. We offer condolences to her family and friends. Meg Dillon for Page Turners In one of Jennifer’s early classes, a U3A Local History course in 2012, Jennifer researched the history of the Benalla Migrant Camp, research she was able to hand on as others became interested. A founding member of the Collectors group in 2016, Jenny is remembered for bringing along a light to highlight the uranium glass amongst her wonderful collection of depression glass. We are thinking of Jennifer’s sister, Judith Borthwick, a former U3A Benalla newsletter editor, at this sad time and offer her our condolences.
U3A Benalla's Executive Committee has been working through a Policy Review process of reviewing policies, with the recent release of the following policies (click on links to view).
Anti-Discrimination Bullying Code of Conduct Grievance Privacy Risk Management Sexual Harassment They are available above, on the About/Our U3A page of this website and in the Policy Folder which is located in the U3A Office. The Committee is currently reviewing the remaining policies: U3A Network Victoria Policies will continue to apply for these policies in the interim: Health and Safety (Serious Injury and Incident) Conflict of Interest Margaret Jenkins, President This year's Benalla Theatre Company Production - 'Mystery on the Orient Express' - premiered on Friday night ... the season finishes on Saturday 29th June. Don't miss out!
Lisa Atkinson from the Benalla Proactive Policing Unit recently forwarded news that Representatives from Crime Stoppers Victoria, Victoria Police and Benalla Rural City Council will be available at Benalla Visitor Information Centre on Thursday 27 June from 11 am to 1pm to chat with the community about personal safety, home and vehicle security, as well as local concerns and scam awareness. Lisa has been to talk to Meet and Mingle a couple of times and is always very helpful. Margaret Jenkins
President and Meet and Mingle Convenor We are pleased to announce our first Spanish course will be commencing in July this year. The tutor, Alejandro Diaz, was a teacher in Columbia and moved here approximately five months ago. Married with a little boy, Alejandro is living in Goorambat and works during the week.
The class will be held weekly on a Saturday morning from 10 to 12 midday in Classroom 1 commencing on July 6th. Alejandro is looking forward to teaching Spanish as he feels the community has helped him greatly, and he would like to give back to the community. Please contact me if you would like to join this group. A reminder that Dawn Stephens is conducting her popular course ‘Enjoying the Internet’ in Semester 2, commencing on 16th July 2024. This will be held in Room 1 on the third Tuesday at 10am. If you would like to join members who registered earlier this year, please contact Dawn on 0418 552 932. If you have ideas for new courses you would like to convene, or which are of interest to you and may be of interest to others, please contact me, or register your ideas on the Program Suggestions page of the website. Anne Nelson 0438 447 379 U3A Benalla's Executive Committee has been working through a Policy Review process of reviewing policies, with the recent release of the following policies (click on links to view). They are available above, on the About/Our U3A page of this website and in the Policy Folder which is located in the U3A Office.
The Committee is currently reviewing the remaining policies: U3A Network Victoria Policies will continue to apply for these policies in the interim: Risk management Health and Safety (Serious Injury and Incident) Conflict of Interest Margaret Jenkins, President At the Official Anzac Day Service in Benalla, a wreath was laid by U3A Members. The service was well attended by a good cross section of society and was conducted in a dignified and respectful manner. It was heartening to see so many children in their Scout Uniform or their junior CFA Uniform or their school Uniform or other Groups Uniform taking part in the ceremony. It was also heartening to see so many young people in their 20’s to 50’s attend - not normally on display in Benalla. Neville Gibb
Jenny McKenna, who passed away recently at home surrounded by her family, had a quiet passion for writing and theatre. A much loved and highly respected nurse in the community, upon retirement Jenny joined the new Play Reading group and the Memoir Writing group at U3A. Jenny’s stories were always beautifully written and can be read at Jenny’s Page on our website. Keen to pursue fiction writing, Jenny, working with Joy Shirley, took on the challenge of establishing our Creative Writing group. A book of stories Jenny had written over the years was published for her family and friends shortly before she died.
Jenny was a member of LUEY (Let Us Entertain You) and an inaugural member of our Play Reading Group. Jenny took on the co-convening 'admin support role' of the Play Reading Group a few years later, a labour of love involving liaising with the Victorian Drama League to access our chosen plays, ordering and returning plays, and collecting weekly contributions towards costs. Jenny stepped up to write newsletter reports, gradually taking on the role of convenor and ‘creative director’ when Keith Rogers became unwell. Jenny continued in the role of convenor for over two years with the support of a small team who helped to choose the plays. In late 2022 Jenny stepped down from her convening roles in the Play Reading group after almost five years, however continued to attend class when appointments to Melbourne allowed. A loved fellow classmate and friend of many U3A members. RIP Jenny. Beverley Lee Benalla Health have employed Ninety Mile Consulting to find out what services the Benalla community would like Benalla Health to provide in the future. A link to the survey is available here if you would like to participate. https://ninetymileconsulting.com/benalla-health-community-survey/
Margaret Jenkins As Course Co-ordinator I would like to receive 'Expressions of Interest' from members for the following courses:
At the moment we have a qualified gentleman interested in teaching Spanish. If anyone knows of someone who might be prepared to teach Line Dancing, Pickleball or French, please let me know. These courses will depend on the response of members. Hopefully we have members out there keen to participate in these courses as well as being a Convenor. Please feel free to phone Anne on 0438 447 379 with your interest. I am also keen to hear about any other courses members may find appealing. Anne Nelson, Course Coordinator Course Coordinator Anne Nelson is currently following up adding Pickleball to our program and would like to receive Expressions of Interest from interested members. Pickleball is increasingly appearing among U3A programs across Australia! To give you an idea about it - the photos are from the Pickleball event held at the Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre in Benalla in June 2023 - Victorian and NSW Teams were competing in in the 'Battle of the Borders'. (It was held in Benalla due to renovations being completed at the WISAC in Wangaratta). Pickleball is played either indoors or outdoors as singles or doubles, including mixed doubles. It’s played on a court similar in size and markings to a badminton court, but players often use an actual badminton court or mark out pickleball lines on a tennis court. It would be flexible when numbers drop in winter as can work in groups of 4, 8, 12 for doubles, or 2, 4, 6 etc for singles. Interested in finding out more (perhaps even helping a group to be offered in the program)? https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/ https://www.u3a.org.uk/learning/subjects/pickleball https://u3asunshine.org.au/newweb/pickleball-outdoors-tuesday/ Rules of Pickleball - https://youtu.be/4vHhZ03O0PI If you are interested in joining a Pickleball Group, feel free to phone Anne on 0438 447 379 with your interest. Nominations for positions of Secretary, Treasurer and Committee Members x 4 are due on Wednesday 6th March. Details are on the 2024 Nomination Form.
![]() The Age Friendly Benalla Information Hub commences fortnightly sessions on Wednesday morning 13 March from 10 -12 in Classroom 2. Chris Greentree (pictured), the Ageing Well Officer for BRCC, has developed a spreadsheet which can be utilised by older people to find activities, clubs, health providers and many other aspects of life in Benalla. This information is being made available to members of the Benalla public on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 10 to 12 am. U3A is sharing its computer equipment and space in Room 2 with the Hub, and in return the safety of electrical cabling in the room has been improved; a small bulletin board and whiteboard installed, and more shelving added. The Men’s Shed have provided a rack for brochures located in the foyer of the Seniors Centre. More information will become available over the coming weeks. Wednesday mornings are quiet at the Seniors Centre, so there will be parking for visitors to the Information Hub. Call in to say hello to Chris and the Age Friendly Benalla volunteers if you are passing by. Thank you to Julie (pictured with John) Rina, Ruth, Geraldine, Heather and Margaret for offering to provide information and accept enrolments on Wednesday mornings in January and February. The first four (of six) sessions were particularly busy; however enrolments had slowed by the end of February.
The volunteers welcomed new and returning members, provided information, collected money, assisted with enrolments and problem solved. They also came up with ideas for improving procedures to make future opening hours at enrolment time even more effective! We would like to take this opportunity to also thank the RedB4 Bookshop committee and volunteers for the key role they play in assisting the U3A Enrolment process throughout the year. The past few months have seen the passing of three U3A members who played an important part in the life of U3A for over a decade and for whom U3A was a much-loved part of life. A member of U3A Benalla from 2007 to 2022, Brian Howard was for many years John Lloyd’s backup convenor for the Sustainability group, convening the group and providing interesting material for discussion when John was travelling or had other commitments. A retired engineer and accomplished tool maker, Brian was also a member of the Tech Talks group. Brian presented models he had built to demonstrate the principles of solar thermal power to both groups, boiling a kettle of water in the process. Brian with his Solar Thermal Electricity Generation Models - Sustainability 2017 Brian’s story ‘My Other Life’, a favourite in our ‘As Time Goes By’ collection, relates to his passion for working with wood. Particularly well known in Benalla as a former Principal of Benalla High School, an involvement written extensively about elsewhere, Keith Rogers was a member of U3A Benalla from 2013 to 2023. A lover of fine wines and the theatre arts, Keith was for many years a co-convenor of U3A Benalla’s Wine Appreciation group with his wife Heather and Noel Meagher. When the Play Reading group commenced in 2016, Keith, a local thespian, was asked whether he would like to be involved. Keith became the group’s ‘creative director’, selecting plays and encouraging class members until he became unwell. Keith (on right) pictured at Wine Appreciation in May 2022. (Click on photograph to go to a memorial slide show on the Wine Appreciation Page) Stella Wharton passed away at Cooinda on Monday 29 January. An active member of U3A Benalla from 2012 to 2023, her son Ian said that Stella had enjoyed her time with U3A and asked us to inform our members of her passing. Memories of Stella include her letting us know that her family would like to donate a collection of recorders of different sizes and tones to our new Recorder group in 2018, a gift described as ‘truly wonderful’ by convenor Janet Douglas. In 2019 Stella shared news of a program run by U3A Melbourne, ‘Revise Your Shorthand as you Train Your Brain’. It's still on our list of suggested courses if the interest is there. Finally, a favourite memory of Stella relates to her electric vehicle, her zippy red scooter!
In addition to the slideshow, if you click on the following photos, you can view them in a larger size!
As you are already in the website - for more information, simply go to 'Join' on the top menu and click on 'Join Us'!
We hope to see you at Enrolment Day on Wednesday 10 January from 9.30am to 12 noon - a wonderful chance to learn about courses and connect up with old and new friends. Existing members will have received enrolment forms in their email or post; while all forms and documents will be available on the day. If you are unable to attend, there's all the information you need to know to enrol on our 'Join Us' page (click on 'Join' on the top menu.
During December the Family Research - Intermediate group met at Rambling Rose for a farewell gathering following a very rich and interesting two years together. It was a delight to work with this group, to share their enthusiasm and the love of the history which surrounded their family research. Members of the group are largely moving into the Family Research group and planning to ‘drop in’ to the ‘drop in’ from time to time. Huge thanks to Judy Barry for mentoring this group, who valued her family research skills and experience very highly. A belated Family Research-Beginners morning tea in December at Rambling Rose celebrated the ‘graduation’ of hard-working Phil Hughes from the 2023 beginners’ group and marked the transition to Family Research – Getting Started with new convenor Deb Saunders in 2024. It also marked the completion of John Barry’s year-long ‘In the Lap of the Gods’ course in 2023. Passionate about Greco-Roman history since childhood, John put so much work into the delivery of ‘In the Lap of the Gods’ in 2024 he says he has enough material for a book!
The web pages of In the Lap of the Gods and other groups which are either taking a break or concluding in 2023 such as Collectors, the Jane Austen Book Group, Tech Savvy Apple ‘Pages’ and the ‘Wise Guys Book Group’ can be found on the website under Groups/Recent Groups. Bev Lee U3A is a volunteer organisation, with members playing 'reciprocal' roles by both learning from others and providing volunteer services to the group. Being a convenor is a key volunteer role, but we also have other volunteer roles, some quite challenging, all rewarding. We recently had our first meeting of Office Volunteers, a new role as we move towards opening the office for members and others on Wednesday mornings from 10 to 12, beginning on the 17th January. Office Volunteers Ruth, Julie, Rina and Margaret check out the store room during orientation! Volunteer 'Positions Vacant'! We would like to receive expressions of interest for the following roles which are attached to being a member of the Executive Committee - 'Course Coordinator' and 'Assistant Secretary'. We also need an Assistant Pianist for the 'Singing for Fun' group which meets at the Cooinda Hub on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Thursdays of the month from 10 to 12 am.
Please contact Margaret Jenkins on 5762 6944 or send an email to [email protected] if you are interested in finding out more about one or more of these roles.
Margaret Jenkins The Newsletter team would like to send our condolences to former Newsletter Editor Judith Borthwick on the death of her husband John.
Judith produced the newsletter for seven years during a period of growth in U3A courses and numbers. During this time, John was an important part of the newsletter production team, playing roles including taking the newsletter to Bill Sykes’ then Steph Ryan’s office for printing, collecting it for distribution, and more. Always smiling, John was a loved friend of many U3A members and a wonderful advocate for U3A in the community. Bev Lee and Heather Wallace This year's U3A Christmas Break Up was held at the iconic Red Stag Restaurant in Eurobin. The 70 acre property, powered entirely by Solar Panels, has Deer, Ostriches, Emus and Goats roaming around the paddocks.
Our group filed into the Restaurant for a 2-course meal, alternate style, perhaps accompanied by a glass of wine. Of necessity, our large group was on a strict timetable, but we were efficiently serviced by two lovely waitresses. 2023 has been another very successful year for Benalla U3A, so after the meal President, Margaret Jenkins, welcomed us all, thanked Convenors and Members for their enthusiasm and hard work and then she thanked the Red Stag staff for its hospitality. Before leaving, most of us couldn't resist stepping outside to the veranda, to drink in those stunning views down the Ovens Valley all the way to Mt. Bogong. Thank you Nicole and Corrie for organising this year's celebration. Bev Thornell The Program Committee has been meeting to consider next year’s program and committee members have contacted some convenors to discuss their plans for 2024. The Draft Program Guide for 2024 will be sent out in a few weeks by Len Jeffers for convenors to finalise and confirm course/activity descriptions and details.
At this stage it appears that some courses will be taking a break (Collectors) or ceasing in 2024 (In the Lap of the Gods and Jane Austen Book Group); others (Ukes4Fun and Photography) are adding a more advanced group; while others are changing their name (for example Tech Savvy Beginners – Android to Be Connected – Android). The pilot Social Chess group is joining the regular timetable, while some new courses being considered for Semester II, such as U3A Network Victoria’s ‘First Nations’ course. There are also some changes of convenors as courses are reshaped and succession plans are implemented. It is never too late to suggest a course you’d be keen to see U3A Benalla offer– or to offer a course yourself! There is an online suggestion box and downloadable Course Proposal form on the Program Suggestions page of the website, or you can contact Margaret Jenkins 5762 6944, Geraldine McCorkell 0408 522 662 with your ideas; Bev Lee if you’d like support in turning your idea into a course, or Len Jeffers for timetabling information. Other members of the Program Committee you can chat to – Dorothy Webber and Julie McNeill. Program Committee October is Come and Try Month. If you would like to try a new or different U3A course, please contact the Convenor of the course you would like to try, and go along to it. TheTimetable with Dates for Semester 2 includes convenors' phone numbers. Tell your friends about U3A Benalla, and bring them along to something which interests them. There is no charge, and your friends may get the same enjoyment from U3A that you do.
The guest speaker for Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 18 October is Fiona Kleinitz from the Stroke Foundation. This will be followed by morning tea. At 11.30am Leading Senior Constable Lisa Atkinson will give a 30-minute presentation on ‘Scams’, after which we have a BBQ lunch as part of Get Online Week. This is supported by a grant we obtained from the Good Things Foundation. Jenny Sawyer and Robyn Lukey will also be available to answer questions about the Be Connected programs they have been involved with. Finally, two dates for your diaries. Wednesday 15 November at 10am is the U3A Concert and Patchwork display in the Auditorium. The program will feature the Recorder Group, the Ukelele Group as well as the Singing for Fun Group to entertain you. Please bring your friends as we want as many people as possible to enjoy the morning. The second date for your diaries is Friday 17 November which will be our Christmas Lunch at the Red Stag at Myrtleford. Cost is $50 per head for the two-course lunch. There will be a bus leaving Benalla Bus Lines for those who do not wish to drive. Here is the link to the Christmas Lunch flier which contains further details. Margaret Jenkins U3A Benalla President |
News updateThis page is for 'general' news - some will be 'just in' news notices of changes to timetables or news of meetings; other items will be celebratory, some will be sad, there will be some longer news items on topics of interest. ContributionsContributions and suggestions can be sent via the 'Contact Us' form or by emailing or telephoning the web manager on 5762 8171.
Course SuggestionsA Program Suggestions page is available for your course ideas and suggestions.
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