After Enrolment Day on January 15, 2025, U3A Benalla had 322 members, this being 44 more members than after Enrolment Day in 2024.
Some courses have already begun. When I was at a meeting last Monday the new Ukulele members were having their introduction to the ukulele in Room 1, whilst on Thursday Community Singing commenced for the year at the Hub at Cooinda.
A big thank you to Len Jeffers for the time and effort he has put into the enrolment process. Len enters each member individually into the system and then constructs class rolls and other information for each Convenor. This takes many hours, and we do appreciate what you do for U3A Benalla Len.
Each member has a name badge. We encourage members to wear these name badges, particularly at the beginning of each year, so new members can become familiar with the names of everyone in their group.
The U3A Committee would like to invite all Convenors to a Convenor’s afternoon on Friday 14th March 2025 at 2.30pm in Room 1 at the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. This will be an opportunity for Convenors to ask any questions or discuss any aspect of running their course with the Committee and other Convenors. Afternoon tea will be provided.
U3A Benalla is very fortunate to be having a visit from Helen Haines, Member for Indi on Tuesday 11th March 2025 from 10am to 11am. Helen will be speaking with members of the U3A Benalla Committee regarding accommodation and then will be joining the U3A Politics and Current Affairs group to speak with them about Federal politics. Any member of U3A is welcome to participate in the Politics meeting with Helen.
A preliminary reminder for your diaries is that the AGM of U3A Benalla will be held on Wednesday 19th March 2025 at 10am in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. Guest speaker will be Bill Sykes who will speak about Agriculture in Northern India.
The AGM is the time to consider members for roles on the U3A Benalla Committee. Due to the retirement of Corrie Witlox, Treasurer of U3A Benalla, there will be a vacancy on the Committee for a new Treasurer as from March 2025. A position description can be obtained by contacting me on 0424 454 313. Corrie has done an excellent job as Treasurer and is retiring due to having held the position for several years. There will be more information about the AGM and a link to the Nomination Form in the next newsletter.
On a final note, the box of U3A Benalla files containing documentation from between 2006 and 2024 has been lost. This was originally located in the cupboard opposite the kitchen. If you have any information about the whereabouts of the box, please contact me on 0424 454 313.
Wishing all members a happy and enjoyable year of U3A activities.
Margaret Jenkins,
President