​What a great concert U3A Benalla had on Wednesday 20th November 2024. Thank you to Janet Douglas and the Recorder players, Heather Wallace and the Ukulele players and the Singing for Fun group for providing such varied entertainment. 

Also, thank you to Dorothy Webber and the Patchwork and Craft group for the fantastic display of their charity quilts and other items. The film about Cooking Solo was also very informative, and it was great to see such enjoyment being had from the cooking course. My thanks to all those ‘behind the scenes’ who helped make the morning such a success. For more information about the concert please read the Meet and Mingle report by Doug Smith.

​U3A Benalla are looking forward now to 2025. Wednesday 15th January 2025 has been booked as our Enrolment Day in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre from 9.30am to 12 noon. We hope all our Convenors will be in attendance to answer questions about the courses from new members and also people wanting to pursue a different course next year.

Thank you to all of the Convenors of courses which will be available in 2025. Convenors are some of the most important people in U3A Benalla, and we do appreciate the time and effort which goes into organising each group.

The new courses for 2025 are American History with Barbara Rogers; Car Torque with Doug Smith; Colour Mixing and Watercolour Techniques Botanical with Margaret Zaal; Croquet with Judy Amery; Exploring Writing Children’s Books with Peter Thompson; French at the Table with Carole Ruta; Train Buffs with Athol Graham and Mahjong with Kay Blore. Collectors with Dorothy Webber is also going to make a reappearance in 2025.

As we haven’t got a Convenor for Stock and Land, John Lane has offered to incorporate some aspects of Stock and Land into his Sustainability course. We are also looking for a Convenor of Life Ball as Marlene Pitts is retiring from being Convenor after four years. Thank you, Marlene for all the effort you have put into Life Ball.

U3A Benalla have been notified by the Winton Solar Farm Community Grants program that we have been successful with our application for a new commercial stove for the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. This is great news as it allows the possibility in the future of a repeat Cooking Solo course.

My best wishes to you all for a happy and safe Christmas Season. I look forward to seeing you all in 2025.

​
Margaret Jenkins

The Program Committee, which consists of Anne Nelson, Len Jeffers, Dorothy Webber and myself, is busy preparing the 2025 U3A Benalla program. We have been offered five new courses for next year, plus an introductory course ‘Come and Learn Croquet’ and will see Collectors reinstated for 2025.
  
The new courses are Train Buffs with Athol Graham and Anne Nelson, Exploring Writing Children’s Books with Peter Thompson, French at the Table with Carol Ruta, Colour Mixing and Water Colour Techniques– Botanical with botanical artist Margaret Zaal and Car Torque with Doug Smith.

The Committee would like to thank all Convenors for 2024 as individually they have been fantastic. There is quite a deal of preparation before every group meets, and this involves time and effort. So, many thanks to all our Convenors for 2024.

For 2025 we would like to welcome Barbara Rogers as the new Convenor of Armchair History, which in 2025 will focus on American History. Barbara was a secondary school teacher for many years with experience in English and History. We also welcome Gary and Carolyn Smith who will be the new Convenors of Wine Appreciation in 2025 and thank Nicole McFarlane for convening this popular group for the past three years. Julie McNeill, after four years of leading Easy Walks, is handing over to Bev Thornell who has been a member of Easy Walks for several years.

Due to the ill health of David Palmer, we are seeking new convenors for Stock and Land and the Sky’s the Limit. David has led Stock and Land since its inception in 2018 and has provided the group with a huge variety of speakers and activities. Thank you, David for your work as Convenor of both these groups.  Thanks also to David’s co-convenor for Sky’s the Limit in 2024, Andrew McFarlane, who is unable to continue in 2025.

Groups which are taking a rest in 2025 include Chess which has been convened by Doug Smith, Family Research with Barry O’Connor, Family Research Drop In with Bev Lee and Enjoying the Internet with Dawn Stephens. Thank you, Doug, Barry, Bev and Dawn for your contributions in 2024 and previous years as well. 

About 45 members attended the Get Online Week celebration on Wednesday 16th October.  Margaret Jenkins presented an Overview of the Be Connected program which was followed by a BBQ lunch on the veranda of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre.

A full report of this successful event is under Be Connected in this Newsletter. 

U3A Benalla have applied to the Winton Solar Farm Community Grants Program for a commercial stove for the kitchen at the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. The Benalla Senior Citizens group are happy for us to apply for this grant. We also have the approval of the Benalla Rural City Council (BRCC) who have indicated that they will match the grant if we are successful. BRCC will provide a range hood and pay for the installation of the stove and the range hood. The selection criteria are quite stringent, but we have applied and should know the outcome in six weeks.

At our October Committee meeting a question was asked if we should have a small sheet at the back of our name tags listing medications that the person is taking. Most U3A Benalla meetings are for two hours, and rarely would this information be needed. However, we are interested to hear if members think this is a good idea. Please contact a committee member or call me on 5762 6944 if you have strong views on this.  The inclusion of the sheet would be optional for all members.

A reminder that the U3A Concert is on Wednesday 20 November 2024 at 10am in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. We are having the Recorder Group; the Ukulele Group and the Singing for Fun group perform for us, as well as a display by the Patchwork and Craft Group and a screening of the short film ‘Cooking Solo’.  You are welcome to bring your friends to what should be a very enjoyable morning.

Our end of year lunch is on Friday 29 November at 12 noon at the Seven Creeks Hotel, Euroa. There will be a choice of three mains and two sweets. This is always a great celebration of our year’s activities, so hope to see you all there. A flyer for registration is included on the final page of this newsletter.

Margaret Jenkins,
President