It is with pleasure that I present the Annual Report of U3A Benalla for the year ending 31st December 2024.

At the end of 2024 we had 420 members, a 5% increase on the figure at the end of 2023. In 2024 we introduced two new groups, Cooking Solo and Chess, both of which were successful.

Two significant events happened for U3A Benalla in 2024. At the AGM we adopted the Model Rules for U3A Benalla. These replaced the Constitution which had been in place since 2011.

In 2024 we also fulfilled the requirements of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission or ACNC and became a registered charity. This meant that we do not have to fill in an Annual Return for the Australian Tax Office. When we went to register as a charity, we discovered that U3A Benalla had been a registered charity about 2008, but unfortunately the paperwork had lapsed and to restore the charity status we had to fill in the paperwork for each year from 2010 to 2023. This was a substantial job and took several hours to complete.

I would like to sincerely thank all Convenors of Groups at U3A Benalla for the past year. Convenors are the backbone of our organisation, and we all know that without a convenor there would be no group. All our Convenors are volunteers who have a great knowledge about their subject, and are willing to impart that knowledge to the people attending their group. Often there is considerable planning before a group happens, and this takes time and effort. So, thank you to our Convenors. U3A Benalla are fortunate to have so many and varied groups, and this comes back to what the Convenors are able to offer.

I would like to thank all members of the Committee for their assistance throughout the past year. As our organisation has grown the amount of work has increased, and each person on the Committee has always been available to help with whatever job needed doing. I would particularly like to acknowledge the people who are retiring from the Committee at this AGM.

Dorothy Webber has been on the Committee since 2010 and was President from 2017 to 2021. Dorothy has been a great support to me as the immediate Past President, and this year has taken over the role of welfare officer sending cards to those members who are ill or have lost loved ones as well as looking after the kitchen requirements for our morning and afternoon teas. Thank you, Dorothy, for all your hard work.

Geraldine McCorkell is also retiring from the Committee having joined the Committee in 2009. Geraldine was President of U3A Benalla from 2012-2013 and was then Secretary from 2017 to 2023. Geraldine has looked after the photocopier machine, and has been responsible for sending out all the printed Newsletters for many years, as well as numerous other jobs. Thank you, Geraldine for all your work for U3A Benalla.

David Palmer was our Publicity Officer for three years until ill health meant that he could no longer participate in that role. David worked as a journalist during his working life. Hence the role of Publicity Officer really suited him. Thank you, David for the articles that you submitted to the Benalla Ensign.

During 2024 Julie McNeill resigned from the Committee dur to ill health. Julie took on the task of writing job descriptions for all Office Bearers and other positions such as Publicity, Membership Secretary, Newsletter Editor and Website Manager, and these provide an ongoing framework to use when talking to new prospective office bearers about what the position entails.

Communication within U3A Benalla is extremely important. My thanks to Heather Wallace for her continued role as Newsletter Editor. Our monthly Newsletter is very popular with members as it contains reports from each group, and also some great photos.

My thanks, also, to Bev Lee who has been a very successful Webmaster of our wonderful website which is so much better than many websites of other U3As in Victoria.  Also, Bev has played an important role in supporting those members who required Power Point or other presentations for Community Projects.

Moving onto the beginning of 2025. This year U3A Benalla have introduced eight new courses including American History, Car Torque, Colour Mixing and Watercolour Technique – Botanical, Come and Learn Croquet, Exploring Collaborative Writing of Children’s Books, French at the Table, Mahjong and Train Buffs. We have also re-introduced Collectors to our program.

This morning, I have been informed by Len Jeffers our Membership Secretary that we have reached 430 members. This is a record number of members for U3A Benalla and is the third year that we have recorded over 400 members.

Accommodation is tight. We have one session a month where Room 1 is vacant. Otherwise, it is booked solid Monday to Saturday for two sessions each day, and three sessions several Tuesdays when German fits in at lunch time. Room 2 is useful for small groups up to 8 people or for one-on-one sessions such as Tech Advice or Family Research -Getting Started. This year with the co-operation of the Benalla Senior Citizens we are using the Auditorium for Exercises for Fun each Monday morning – this group has 80 enrolled for it, Mahjong each Monday which follows Exercises, Let’s Talk Books on the first Monday of the Month and Colour Mixing and Watercolour Technique – Botanical once a month. On 2nd April 2025 U3A Benalla are doing a presentation to the Councillors and our accommodation problem will be part of that presentation.  

In summary, thank you to our Convenors, the Committee and all the members who has made the past twelve months so successful. I would like to move that my report be received.  


Margaret Jenkins 
March 19, 2025

2025 has begun well for U3A Benalla. Congratulations to Deidre Clarke for being the 400th member enrolled for 2025. Among these 400 members we have 66 members who have enrolled for the first time with U3A Benalla. So, we really are a growing organisation.
 
Due to excellent enrolment of members, we now have Wait Lists for three courses: Mahjong, Colour Mixing and Watercolour Technique – Botanical and Family Research- Getting Started. In each case there is a limit to how many members each Convenor can comfortably impart knowledge to, and it is better for those in the group to come to understand fully what the course is about, than to only get partial knowledge about the course.
 
U3A Benalla are pleased to offer their members a meeting with Inland Rail on Tuesday 4th March at 10am in Room 1. Inland Rail are planning on commencing the Benalla Station Redevelopment in mid-2025, and wish to share their recent designs of the redevelopment with the Benalla community. The presentation team which are coming to U3A will include a member from John Holland, the contractor. The community is being invited to have their input on seating, landscaping, lift shaft decoration design and the position of the signal box. Please come along and ask any questions you may have about the redevelopment.
 
Our AGM will be held on Wednesday 19th March 2025 in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. Guest speaker will be Bill Sykes who is going to talk about Agriculture in Northern India. There will also be election of U3A Office Bearers and the U3A Committee for the 2025-2026 year. Members may nominate for any of these positions and a nomination form is included at the end of this Newsletter.
 
We are pleased to report that the lost box of archive material has been found. 
 
U3A Benalla are doing a presentation to Benalla Rural City Council Councillors on Wednesday 2nd April 2025. Accommodation at the Benalla Seniors Community Centre if extremely tight this year. U3A hope to inform all Councillors about U3A, and see if the space at the Seniors Centre can be better utilised.
 
On Thursday 20th February I was the guest speaker at the Rose City Probus group who meet at the Benalla Bowls Club. The topic they suggested was “my life experiences” which naturally included a good segment on U3A Benalla. My thanks to Bev Lee for her assistance with the slides for this presentation.  
 
Finally, U3A Benalla have been thinking about succession planning for our growing organisation. We are looking for someone to be a “back-up” for our Newsletter Editor, Heather Wallace, and also a “back-up” for our Website Manager Bev Lee. If you are interested in knowing what either backup position would entail, please contact Heather on 0418 353 244 or Bev on 0478 607 838.
 
Margaret Jenkins 

What a fantastic morning U3A Benalla had at Enrolment Day on Wednesday 15th January 2025. Thank you to all the Convenors who came and talked with members and new people wanting to join U3A about their courses. The information that you shared no doubt helped members decide if that course was for them.

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

​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

U3A Benalla have lots of interesting events available between now and the end of 2024. On Friday 1st November at 2pm we will have a presentation by Latrobe Community Health Service titled “How to Live at Home for Longer”. Topics to be covered include My Aged Care, Commonwealth Home Support Program, Home Care Packages: How to Access, Services and Equipment and other subsidised Government programs. The event is free. However, we would like you to contact Helen Jeffree on 0490 092 267 if you would like to come as an Information Package will be available for those than come.

On Wednesday 16 October at Meet and Mingle we will have Kay Blore speaking on Recycling. This will be followed by morning tea. After that we will have an Overview of the Be Connected Program which we have been involved with since 2016. Following the talk about Be Connected there will be a free BBQ lunch underneath the veranda. The Lions Club are cooking for the BBQ and the Ukulele group will be providing music during lunch. We need to know numbers for catering so could you please contact Helen Jeffree on 0490 092 267 if you are coming.

We would like you to bring anyone who would benefit from our Digital Instruction Programs as we will have Ruth Jelliff, Robyn Lukey and Jenny Sawyer attending.

October is Taster Month when members of U3A Benalla can try another course before enrolling for it in 2025. Please contact the Convenor of the group you wish to try before turning up to it. We are also happy for you to bring along a friend who is not a U3A member for them to try what you enjoy.

A reminder about our end of year concert on Wednesday 20 Nobember 2024 at 10am in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. We will have the Singing for Fun group, the Recorder Group, and the Ukulele group as well as a display by the Patchwork and Craft Group.  You are welcome to bring your friends to this morning of entertainment.

Our end of year lunch is at the Seven Creeks Hotel in Euroa on Friday 29 November at 12 noon. There will be a choice of 3 mains and 2 desserts for lunch. A bus will leave from the Rose Gardens in Benalla at 11.20am. Cost is $45 pp for lunch or $60 if travelling by bus. Please see the form included in this month’s Newsletter to let us know that you want to come.

The Committee have had some information about a new digital program called Member Wizard which is being initiated and supported by U3A Network in Melbourne. The program is in its trial evaluation stage and further information should be available in 2025.

On 13th August I spoke about U3A Benalla at Lakeside Probus. There were approximately 40 people there, about a quarter of them already U3A members.  The talk was illustrated by about 30 power point slides and provided a colourful story of U3A Benalla. My thanks to Bev Lee for providing the Power Point slides.  

U3A Benalla in 2024 consists of 419 members attending 46 different programs. Have you ever wondered how the programming for the U3A timetable is prepared and maintained throughout the year? Some programs are conducted weekly, others fortnightly or monthly. Attendance rolls for each program are prepared. Convenors are provided with contact information for their groups.

All this information is provided by a program originally written by a member Terry Dillon and then further developed by Len Jeffers. The program is written using Microsoft Access which is part of the Microsoft Office group of programs.

We are looking for U3A members who may be interested in getting to know the program’s database and perhaps becoming more involved with its operation. If you are interested, please contact Len Jeffers or myself.

Margaret Jenkins   

October is Taster Month when members of U3A can try another course to see if they like it, before enrolling for it in 2025. Please contact the Convenor of the group you want to try before turning up. Also, if you have a friend who is not a U3A member, the offer to bring them along to try what you enjoy in October and November applies.

The Committee would like to remind you about the Get Online Week function which will be on Wednesday 16 October. We will have Kay Blore speaking at Meet and Mingle on Recycling at 10am, which will be followed by morning tea. At 11.30 we will have an Overview of the Be Connected program which U3A Benalla have been involved with since 2016.

Following the Overview of the Be Connected program we will have a BBQ lunch outside under the veranda of the Benalla Seniors building.The Ukes4Fun group are going to entertain us during lunch.

​Please bring anyone who would benefit from our Digital Instruction programs so that they can find out about the programs we have on offer. Ruth Jelliff, Jenny Sawyer and Robyn Lukey will all be attending.

We would also like to remind you about our end of year concert at Meet and Mingle on 20 November 2024 at 10am which will be held in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. The concert will feature the Singing for Fun group, the Recorder group and the Ukulele group as well as having a display of patchwork by the Patchwork and Craft group.

Our end of year lunch is booked for Friday 29 November at 12 o’clock at Seven Creeks Hotel at Euroa. A bus will leave the Rose Gardens in Benalla at 11 am. Cost of lunch is $45, or $55 if you are travelling by bus. A form to book the end of year lunch will be available in next month’s Newsletter.
​

Margaret Jenkins 

Congratulations to members of the Ukulele Group and the Singing for Fun Group who have been involved in activities at Cooinda during this last month. Members of the Ukulele group played during Cooinda’s Hub monthly dinner on Wednesday 17 July whilst the Singing for Fun group shared their singing on Thursday 18 July with residents of Cooinda. For comments received, both groups were enjoyed and their efforts appreciated by all those present.

July has meant the beginning of Semester 2 for U3A Benalla. The new course which has started in this Semester is Spanish which is being Convened by Alejandro Diaz every Saturday morning from 10am. Alejandro is an accomplished teacher having taught English in South America before coming to Australia.

We have had a couple of successes in the last month. Firstly, at the Finance and Planning meeting of the Benalla Rural City Council on Wednesday 19th June the Councillors passed the Recommendation:

1. That the Council rename the Benalla Senior Citizens Community Centre to Benalla Seniors and Community Centre
2. That Geographic Names Victoria (VICNAMES) be advised of the name change.

This change was suggested by U3A Benalla in August 2023 to the BRCC, and it has worked through the accepted process, and has now been adopted. U3A Benalla feel that it is a more inclusive name for all groups which use the building.

Our second success is that we have been re-registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) as a charity. When we started on the journey for registering as a charity, the Committee of U3A Benalla did not realise that U3A Benalla had been previously registered as a charity, and unfortunately had not kept up with the annual requirements.

Therefore, when we applied to become a charity, we had to fulfill the requirements which had not been satisfied since the original registration. This meant filling in Annual Information Statements for the years between 2013 and 2023. My thanks to Corrie Witlox and Neville Gibb for supplying financial statements for those years. Obtaining charity status will mean that we will have Commonwealth charity tax concessions reinstated. We are waiting on this final piece of documentation to be forwarded by the ATO.

Congratulations to Carmyl Winkler on being awarded an OAM in the recent King’s Birthday honours. Carmyl joined U3A three years ago when she came to Benalla, and is a valued member of the Singing groups and the Memoir Writing group. Carmyl’s award was for her contribution to both Benalla and Tallangatta communities, Carmyl having lived in Tallangatta for 45 years before coming to Benalla.

The Committee would like to thank Gwen Mildren and Val Whan plus several assistants who ran the Cooking Solo course in Semester 1 this year.  It was the first time that U3A Benalla had embarked on such a practical course, and from comments of participants Cooking Solo seemed to fill a need in the Benalla community, as well as providing social interaction, enjoyment and a hearty meal each time for the 10 participants.

Our second semester commences in July, and we are welcoming our newest group, Spanish which is being Convened by Alejardo Diaz each Saturday morning from 10am to 12 noon. To date we have seven members interested in learning Spanish. If you wish to join this group, please contact Anne Nelson on 0438 447 379

Enjoying the Internet with Dawn Stephens will also start in Semester 2. This popular course will be run on the third Tuesday from 10am to 12 noon in Room 1. Please contact Dawn on 0418 552 932 if you wish to attend Enjoying the Internet.


Margaret Jenkins ​

During the past month U3A Benalla have received information from U3A Network that we should register as a charity to obtain partner benefits that have been obtained through Network deals. For example, being a registered charity allows U3A Network to access copyright for music performance via One Music at no cost to members.

The principal driver behind many charity registrations is obtaining charity tax concessions. These include income tax exemption, GST concessions and rebate on Fringe Benefits tax if applicable.

The term ‘charitable purpose’ is defined to include: advancing health; advancing education; advancing social and public welfare; advancing culture and other similar purposes beneficial to the general public. The activities of U3A Benalla are clearly for the public benefit.

At our last Committee meeting, we accepted the Network recommendation to apply for charity status. Since then, I have filled out a 10-page form and have submitted it to the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission. The ACNC has a backlog of organisations requesting to be classified as charities, and we have been advised that it will be 12 weeks before a Law Interpretation Analyst is allocated to our application.

I would like to thank all Convenors who attended the Convenors afternoon on Friday 3rd May. We had 18 Convenors who take 25 groups there, including three who were Convenors for the first time this year. It was an informative afternoon, and worthwhile to hear the positives and a few difficulties as well. Thank you to all who attended and to Geraldine for providing for the home cooked afternoon tea.

​Benalla has experienced an outbreak of COVID in the past month. Concern has been expressed about the 24 Ukulele members playing and singing in Room 1 together. We have advised the Ukulele group to open windows and doors while practising. However, in line with school policies, the Committee is going to investigate an air purifier for this room.

Any person experiencing a runny nose, sore throat, temperature or is generally unwell should not participate in any group until they are well again. The air purifier is not going to eradicate COVID. However, we need to do everything we can to assist groups which are experiencing overcrowding in this room.

In the proposed budget 2024/25 papers of Benalla Rural City Council, U3A Benalla were pleased to see the second aim of the Council is to develop the Fawckner Drive Precinct. As this building is in that area, the Committee of U3A Benalla have forwarded a submission to the Budget considerations of Council asking for them to build us an additional room which will accommodate 40 to 50 people. We will keep you informed as to how this submission progresses.


Margaret Jenkins,
​President

The main points which came out of the meeting were:

• U3A Network are going to use State Government funds to pay for a music licence which will cover copyright for the music used by all groups of all U3A branches. The music covered is for the Ukelele group, the Recorder Group, the Singing Groups, the Exercise Group and also the Film Group.
• Tax reporting laws for Incorporated groups such as ourselves are changing on 1st July 2024. U3A Network have engaged a lawyer to give an opinion on how these changes will affect individual U3As such as Benalla. This information has been forwarded to the U3A Benalla Committee, and they will act on the information provided at the next Committee meeting.
• The Victorian U3A Conference will be held in Melbourne in early October 2024. Network are paying the Registration costs of one delegate per U3A to encourage participation by all U3A branches.

A small housekeeping item. Twice this month I have been contacted by morning groups which have found a window open in Room 1. Also, another group found the heater on one morning. Could everyone please check that windows are closed and that the heater is off at the end of each session.

Thank you to Neville Gibb for laying a wreath on behalf of U3A Benalla at the Benalla Anzac Day service. Covid prevented my participation in the service.
 
Margaret Jenkins. 

​2023 was a year of expansion for U3A Benalla. We went from 325 members at the end of 2022 to 403 members in October 2023, a 22% increase. This expansion was in part due to the seven new programs introduced in 2023. These programs included Ukes4Fun with Heather Wallace, Photography with Rene Martens, In the Lap of the Gods with John Barry, the Sky’s the Limit with Claire Rudolph, Enjoying the Internet with Dawn Stephens, the Jane Austen Book Group with Meg Dillon and the Wise Guys Book Group with David Palmer.
 
U3A Benalla is consistently offering our members over 45 courses to choose from each year. Each course is run by a Convenor who has a passion for the program they are involved with. My thanks to each Convenor for the time and effort they put into running their particular course. Convenors are the backbone of U3A Benalla.

I would also like to thank the Committee for the support they have been to me during the past twelve months. This support is demonstrated not only by the valued input of Committee members at Committee meetings, but also by the backroom work all Committee members do in running this organisation.
 
In particular I would like to thank Geraldine McCorkell, who is retiring as Secretary after two terms, and Neville Gibb, who is retiring after two terms as Treasurer. I am pleased that both Geraldine and Neville have nominated as Committee members.
 
I would also like to thank Lorraine Knox who is retiring from the Committee this year, after many years of being a previous secretary, as well as many years on the Committee.
 
During 2023 the Committee commenced looking at Policies which applied to U3A Benalla. This had not been done for a number of years. The outline of these policies came from U3A Network. We also looked at completed policies from U3A Lakes Entrance who presented them in very readable form. So far, the Committee has examined and passed the Anti-Discrimination Policy, the Code of Conduct Policy, the Privacy Policy and the Grievance Policy. The Committee are continuing examining Policies, and will complete this project in 2024. The completed policies are available for members to inspect in the U3A Office.
 
Enrolment day in January 2024 was a huge success. My thanks to all Convenors who volunteered their time to inform new members about their courses. In 2023 we attracted 100 new members to U3A Benalla. So far this year we have 65 members who have joined U3A Benalla for the first time.
 
Following Enrolment Day this year we trialled opening the U3A Office each Wednesday morning in January and February so that those who were unable to come to Enrolment Day could enrol. Thank you to Ruth Jelliff, Rina Caddy, Julie McNeill, Geraldine McCorkell and Heather Wallace for opening the office. The opening of the office was well supported with many people wanting to chat about the groups they were choosing, and will be repeated next year.
 
Communication within U3A Benalla is very important. Our Newsletter and Website are vital parts of our communication. I would like to thank Heather Wallace and Bev Lee for the many hours they spend producing the Newsletter and updating the Website. Also, thank you to all those members who contribute photos for Bev and Heather to use.
 
One of the important aspects of being President is talking to other organisations about U3A Benalla. In 2023 I spoke to the Ladies Probus Club, the Benalla Rotary Club and the Group Conference of the CWA at Swan Pool. In August 2023, there was a 10-minute presentation to the Councillors of Benalla Rural City, which was followed by 35 minutes of questions from Councillors to both Geraldine and myself. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Bev Lee in the preparation of the slides for these presentations.
 
In the early part of 2024, we have introduced another two courses to U3A Benalla. These are Chess and Cooking Solo. Both groups are going well. In early March 2024 we welcomed our 400th member of U3A Benalla for this year. In 2023 we reached that milestone in October, compared to March in 2024. The lady who was our 400th member is from Glenrowan, and has joined the Singing for Fun and Exercises for Fun. Increasingly we are finding that a number of members are coming from areas outside Benalla. We now have a member of our Wine Appreciation group from Albury, and our German group has a member from Beechworth. The number of Members attending each group appear to be increasing, which underlines our need for another room which could accommodate 40 to 45 members.
 
During 2023, at our presentation to Council it was suggested that we inspect the Supper Room of the Town Hall as a possible meeting room. Unfortunately, the supper room of the Town Hall was not suitable. We have also enquired about the availability of a room at the Australian Christian College in Sydney Road, but have been told that these buildings are being decommissioned. So, we have not solved where we can find a large meeting room. We are hoping that Councillors will include funds for a room to accommodate 40 to 45 people in their Budget in 2024.
 
During 2023 we promoted the idea of changing the name for this building to the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre, which we felt was more inclusive of U3A Benalla, the Benalla Bridge Club and the Benalla Social Dancing Group as well as the Benalla Senior Citizens Club. We included this idea in our presentation to Council in August 2023, and the Councillors appeared to be receptive to our idea. The suggestion has been through the Public Feedback stage, and we look forward to Council making a decision regarding the name change of this building in the near future.   

In conclusion, 2023 was a very successful year for U3A Benalla. We are a growing organisation providing courses which involve physical, mental and social interaction for 400 plus members of the mature community of Benalla. It has been a privilege to be your President for the past year.


Margaret Jenkins

2024 has started very well for U3A Benalla. Early this week, our excellent Membership Secretary, Len Jeffers told me that we have 385 members. Quite remarkable. Last year we welcomed 100 new members who joined U3A Benalla for the first time, and this year so far, we have had another 58 members who are new to U3A Benalla.

There are wonderful numbers for some groups. Gwen Turner has 88 enrolled for Garden Appreciation, with 56 coming to their meeting in February. Likewise, Helen Jeffree has 85 enrolled for Exercises for Fun, and had over 50 members for a couple of her first sessions.

There are 41 members enrolled for Music Appreciation, 39 for Patchwork and Craft, 60 for Wine Appreciation and Lifeball has 25 members enrolled which is about double the number they had last year.

Due to increased numbers Tech Talks has been moved from Room 2 to Room 1, whilst I have arranged with Val Burke, President of the Senior Citizens, for some of the Chess players to use the table outside the kitchen if there are too many for Room 2.

The Committee would like to thank all Convenors for the time and effort they put into running each of our 46 courses. Also thank you to Dorothy Webber, Convenor of Patchwork and Craft for making the aprons for the new Cooking Solo group.

In December 2023 the Committee received notification that there were new regulations governing Incorporated Associations in Victoria which took effect on 18 November 2023, covering model rules, fees, penalties, and financial reporting tier thresholds.

U3A Benalla Inc. is an Incorporated Association which has been run according to our Constitution which was passed in March 2011.

However, when we examined the Constitution, we found that there were a number of areas which have changed since 2011. We looked at Amending parts of the Constitution, but following advice, found it easier to change to the Model Rules, which are available on the Consumer Affairs Website.

On Monday 26 February 2024 at a Special Committee meeting of U3A Benalla Inc. the Committee passed the following Special Resolution:

“That U3A Benalla Inc. adopt the Model Rules of Incorporated Associations as from 20 March 2024.“

The Annual General Meeting of U3A Benalla Inc. will be held on Wednesday 20 March 2024 in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre at 10am. At that meeting we will ask the members to ratify the Special Resolution regarding changing to use the Model Rules of Incorporated Associations.  

Also, at our AGM we will have an election of Office Bearers, which we have asked Val Burke to conduct. According to our 2011 Constitution, office bearers of U3A Benalla Inc can only hold office for four years. Therefore, the position of Secretary and Treasurer will be vacant. From within the current Committee, we have a nomination for both these positions. However, anyone from the general membership is also able to nominate for the position of Secretary or Treasurer. There are also four Committee positions to be filled.  A link to the nomination form is included here.

Any member of U3A Benalla may be nominated by two other members of our organisation for either the Secretary, Treasurer or Committee position.  If there are more than four nominations for Committee, an election will be held.

Guest speaker at the AGM is Lou Sigmund who will talk about Chooks.

We have been asked by Natalie Phillips of Benalla Rural City Council to publicise the need for volunteer instructors for the Benalla L to P program. There will be training in mid-April for volunteers. Anyone interested should contact Natalie.
​

Margaret Jenkins

What a wonderful day we had at Enrolment Day on Wednesday 10 January! There seemed to be a continuous stream of people coming through the door to chat with the Convenors and then to fill in an Enrolment Form.

My thanks to all the Convenors who came and talked to those new to U3A Benalla, and also to our current members. It was great that you told them about the successful courses that you all run, and gave them the Information the prospective members were seeking. Thank you.

My thanks also to the Committee members, and others, who came early and helped set up the tables and chairs. That was an essential ingredient for the success of the morning.

​Since then Enrolments have been steadily coming in. The first morning we opened the U3A Benalla Office on Wednesday 17 January we had another twelve enrolments. The opening of the office has also provided the opportunity for members to tell us what courses you would like in the future, which is important information for us to work on.

The U3A Office will open each Wednesday morning from 10am to 12 noon until the end of February. So, if you have not enrolled yet, please come and bring your Enrolment form one Wednesday morning soon.

Alternatively, there is still the option for enrolment using on-line banking, enrolment by post and also for leaving the form and money in an envelope at the Redb4 Bookshop in Bridge Street.

To date we have received 338 Membership forms for our 46 courses. The numbers for some courses are very impressive: Garden Appreciation 78, Exercises for Fun 77 and Wine Appreciation 49. Patchwork has attracted 32 participants this year, and Music Appreciation 30.

The consistency of these excellent numbers particularly for Patchwork and Craft and also for Music Appreciation shows the need for a larger room to be available to U3A Benalla, and the Committee will be continuing to ask Benalla Rural City Council for a larger room in 2024.

Some courses such as Ukulele and Community Singing have commenced during the second half of January. However, the majority of our programs are commencing in February.

The proposed name change of the building where we meet from the Benalla Senior Citizens Community Centre to the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre was suggested jointly in a letter by U3A Benalla and the Senior Citizens to the Benalla Rural City Council. This name change will make all people who use the building feel included.

Currently there is a survey being conducted by the Benalla Rural City Council to find out if the public is happy with the name change.

There are two ways in which you as members of U3A Benalla can show support for this name change. Firstly, there are forms just inside the side entrance of the building (the entrance we use) which can be filled in and handed into Customer Service by Friday 16 February 2024. Alternatively, the survey can be completed online by visiting https://haveyoursay.benalla.vic.gov.au/benalla-senior-citizens-community-centre-proposed-name-change.

We would appreciate as many U3A Benalla members as possible filling in this survey so that the name change is adopted by the Benalla Rural City Council.

Margaret Jenkins 

Happy New Year to all U3A Benalla members. I hope you have enjoyed catching up with family and friends over the Christmas and New Year period.

Thank you to all Convenors for the time and effort they put into organising the wonderful U3A Benalla programs that were available in 2023. Convenors are the life blood of U3A Benalla, and the Committee really appreciates their commitment to running each program.
At the end of 2023 we saw the retirement of John Hanlon as Co-Convenor of Investment. Malcolm Sanders will be continuing the group in 2024 which is undergoing a name change to Australian Shares and Stock Market. Thank you, John for your thoughtful and helpful sessions throughout 2023. The wisdom in what you presented was enjoyed by all members of the group.

In December we advertised for three new positions in U3A Benalla. The first of these was a Course Co-ordinator position. U3A Benalla now has consistently over 45 groups available to its members, and the introduction of each new course takes a little time and effort to help the new Convenor decide on content of the course, and where there is a slot to fit it in. We are pleased to announce that our current Vice President, Anne Nelson (pictured) has accepted the position of Course Co-ordinator, and will commence in this role in January 2024.

Anyone with an idea for a U3A Benalla course is encouraged to contact Anne on 0438 447 379. Also, Anne is available to talk with any Convenors who need assistance.

We also advertised for an Assistant Secretary to help Geraldine with her growing number of duties. I am pleased to announce that Helen Jeffree has agreed to help in this role. Thank you, Helen for also agreeing to come onto the Committee.

The pianist for Singing for Fun, Gwen Barnes, said in late 2023 that she would appreciate an assistant. Gwen has played for Singing for Fun for 19 years, and has done a magnificent job during that period playing the piano three Thursday mornings per month.
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In U3A Benalla we have many multi-talented people, and one of those is Deb Saunders who has indicated that she is interested in becoming our Assistant Pianist at Singing for Fun. Welcome Deb. Singing for Fun has a great bunch of people who all enjoy singing, and are great company at morning tea.

I would also like to thank the Volunteers who are opening the U3A Benalla office each Wednesday morning from Wednesday 17 January 10am to 12 noon until the end of February. Thank you to Ruth Jelliff, Rina Caddy, Julie McNeil, Geraldine McCorkell and myself. The office will be open to accept new memberships, answer questions, give you a guided tour of the Website, let you know when various activities are on, and assist with other general enquiries.

During December we received news that U3A Benalla had been awarded a Building Digital Communities Grant by The Good Things Foundation, who run the Be Connected program.  Whilst the Good Things Foundation is administering the grant, it is being funded by the Bendigo Bank to help some of their customers who wish to improve their digital skills to do on-line banking. There were 40 of these grants available throughout Australia, and U3A Benalla was fortunate enough to be awarded one to assist Bendigo Bank customers in Benalla. More information on this will be available shortly.

We are looking forward to Enrolment Day for U3A Benalla which will be held in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre, 18 Fawckner Drive on Wednesday 10th January 2024 from 9.30am to 11.30am. We are hoping that all Convenors will be available that morning to talk with new and current members of U3A Benalla about their courses. Morning tea will be available, and it is a great time to catch up with friends. Hope to see you there!


Margaret Jenkins 

What a great morning everyone had at Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 15th November. Thank you to the Recorder Group, the Ukulele Group and the Singing for Fun Group for supplying such varied musical entertainment, and also to the members of the Patchwork and Craft Group who brought along some of the work they have done during 2023.

It was so good to see about 60 members of U3A and their friends in the audience. In total I think there were over 100 in the auditorium for the morning, which was great to see.

​Congratulations to Bev Lee on her Life Membership of U3A Benalla which was presented at Meet and Mingle.

Bev has run our website for the past ten years, taken a huge number of excellent photos for the Website, as well as being a constant assistant to Heather Wallace with the Newsletter. The Website and Newsletter have certainly helped keep our members well informed about what has been happening at U3A Benalla and have contributed to our membership reaching 400 this year.

Also, Bev initiated our Tech Savvy Seniors program in 2015, developed and convened Family Research courses for the past five years and has convened the memoir writing group for the past 10 years.  Bev has also been a member of the Program Committee and mentor to new Convenors, developed and produces our Convenors A-Z each year and introduced the Course Proposal form often used with new Convenors to outline the course they are going to run.   

So, congratulations Bev. You thoroughly deserve the Life Membership

U3A courses and activities in general start in February 2024. However, Brian Greed has kindly offered to run Community Singing at the Hub at Cooinda on Thursday 18th January and Thursday 25th January at 10am. All U3A members are welcome to attend.  Lifeball and Ukes4Fun resume on Monday 15th January.

Enrolment Day is Wednesday 10th January 2024 in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre, from 9.30 am to 12 noon. The Committee is hoping that all Convenors will be able to attend so that they can answer questions from new people wanting to join U3A Benalla. 

2023 has been a very successful year for U3A Benalla. My sincere thanks to all Convenors for the time and effort they have put into their courses to make them so interesting. It is the Convenors who make U3A in Benalla such a great organisation.

On behalf of the Committee, I wish you all a Happy Christmas, and look forward to seeing you next year at our U3A Benalla activities.

Margaret Jenkins

​What a wonderful morning and lunch we had on Wednesday 18th October.  Fiona Kleinitz, on behalf of the Stroke Foundation, was our guest speaker at Meet and Mingle. Fiona had lived experience of stroke, and was a very passionate speaker.  Then we were fortunate to have Leading Senior Constable Lisa Atkinson from the Benalla Police who gave a comprehensive talk about Scams, which unfortunately are becoming all too frequent.
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This was part of our Get Online Week program, held as part of the Be Connected program and supported by the Good Things Foundation. After Lisa’s talk, we followed with a great BBQ cooked by the Benalla Lions Club, and enjoyed music provided by the U3A Ukulele Group. Robyn Lukey and Jenny Sawyer who use the Be Connected program were on hand to answer questions during and after lunch.

U3A Benalla were invited to have a table at the Carer’s Day which was celebrated at the Community Centre in Coster Street on Tuesday 17th October. My thanks to Geraldine and Corrie who sat at the table for three hours, and provided copies of our Newsletter and Timetable for those that attended. The Patchwork and Craft Group had made 44 material bags for the Carer’s, which was a great effort by the group.

On Monday 16th October Geraldine and I had a tour of the Town Hall with Elise Wood from BRCC. This tour had been suggested by the Councillors when U3A Benalla did our presentation to Council on 30 August.

The Town Hall Supper room, which the Councillors had strongly suggested to be a suitable larger meeting room, is currently used as a storage facility. To access it there is a steep, narrow set of stairs unsuitable for our age group. There is also a four-person lift which has to have a finger on the up key permanently for it to operate between floors.
 
Parking for 40 people would also be a problem at the Town Hall. In the adjacent car park, I counted three empty car spaces mid-morning, and we were told that this car park is normally full Monday to Friday, when our programs operate.  Car parking in Nunn Street was also fully utilised.

On October 11th I met with Elise Wood and Chris Greentree, both from the Benalla Rural City Council. Chris is the Ageing Well Officer for BRCC, and has developed a spreadsheet which can be utilised by the older community to find activities, clubs, health providers and many other aspects of life in Benalla. The plan is to make this information available not only to U3A members, but also members of the Benalla public two half days a month from February 2024. We looked at safety and other aspects of our Meeting room 2 which will be used for this project. The Men’s Shed are providing a rack for brochures which will be located in the foyer of the Seniors Centre.

The exciting news is that U3A Benalla now has 400 members! This is a 22% increase in membership from 2022. It reflects the variety and number of courses which we offer our members. My thanks go to each and every Convenor for the time and effort they put into making their courses so interesting and attractive.

Our presentation to the Mayor, Councillors and CEO of Benalla Rural City Council on 30 August went very well. I would like to thank Bev Lee for her assistance in putting the slides together. Geraldine and I expected the ten-minute presentation to be followed by 5 minutes of questions. However, we had about 35 minutes of questions, and Geraldine helped with quite a few questions which was great.

The Councillors related to the presentation. Cr King told us that he saw a photo of his grandmother in one of the slides, whilst another Councillor told us there were a couple of U3A groups that he thought he would like to join.

To sum up the questions, the Councillors were not interested in spending money and building on this site. They wanted current council buildings to be better utilised. To this end, Geraldine and I are going to be given a tour of the Town Hall with a view to seeing if the supper room there would be a suitable larger meeting room. There is a lift which services the supper room from the ground floor. However, the majority of our programs will still operate next year out of our current meeting rooms at 18 Fawckner Drive.

Another aspect of our presentation was that we told the Councillors that there were acoustic problems with the Auditorium. Council is looking at applying for a grant for a Hearing Loop for the Auditorium.

The Mayor and Councillors were receptive to the idea of changing the name of this building from the Benalla Senior Citizens Building to the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre. In the presentation I stressed to Councillors that relations with the Senior Citizens had improved, and that U3A felt the current name did not reflect U3A use of the building. The mayor asked for a formal letter signed by myself on behalf of U3A and Val Burke on behalf of the Senior Citizens saying that both organisations were in favour of the name change. This letter was handed to the Customer Service Department of BRCC on Thursday 14th September.

October is Come and Try month. If you would like to try a new or different U3A course to what you are currently enrolled for, please contact the Convenor of the course you would like to try, and go along to it. Likewise, tell your friends about U3A Benalla, and bring them along to something which interests them during October. There is no charge, and your friends may get the same enjoyment from U3A that you do.

Geraldine took part in the U3A Regional Meeting on Wednesday 12 September. Some U3A’s are finding 5 to 8 weeks courses are popular, including a First Nations Course. A Tutor data base is being launched sometime in September. However, this is more applicable to suburban U3As than regional ones.

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 11.30 am we have arranged for Leading Senior Constable Lisa Atkinson to speak to us about cybersecurity, with a focus on 'Scams'.  A BBQ lunch will follow at 12 mid-day - also is part of Get Online Week. This is supported by a grant we obtained from the Good Things Foundation. We have also asked Jenny Sawyer and Robyn Lukey from our Be Connected program to answer questions about their Tech Savvy programs. The Ukelele group will provide a little music during lunch.

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. Further details in next month’s newsletter.


Margaret Jenkins 

On Tuesday 22 August I was the guest speaker at the CWA Group Conference held at Swanpool.  This group of women came from as far away as Corowa and were really interested to hear about U3A Benalla.  There were a variety of questions after my talk which showed how interested they were.  Two members of the audience were members of U3A Benalla which also helped with the impact of the talk.

On Wednesday 30 August I am presenting to Councillors at an Assembly of Council briefing regarding U3A Benalla and our need for another meeting room in the near future.  Geraldine is also coming to the briefing. Our U3A Benalla membership continues to grow and is currently 394, which is an 18% increase on membership in 2022.

During the past week we have been notified that U3A Benalla has been awarded a Get Online Week grant. This will fund the free lunch we are providing members on Wednesday 18th October at 12 noon.  Will Rusin will speak on Cyber Security.   Jenny Sawyer and Robyn Lukey, who have run the Be Connected program this year and who run our popular Tech Advice program, will be in attendance.  Please come along and enjoy lunch and hear a little about our Digital Technology programs.

Our guest speaker for Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 20th September is the President of the Men’s Shed, Lou Sigmund.   Lou will speak about the Men’s Shed and how they will be able to help U3A members and the wider Benalla community.  You may remember that Lou gave us a very entertaining Meet and Mingle in June when he spoke on Marketing Inventions.

Currently we are in negotiations with Age Friendly Benalla regarding them setting up their Information Spreadsheet on the computer in our Room 2 for two half days per month.  This Information Spreadsheet has been put together by the Benalla Council Aging Well Officer, Chris Greentree, and provides a huge amount of information for older members of the community.  It is envisaged that having it available in our building will provide another service not only to U3A members but also to members of the Senior Citizens and other members of the Benalla Community.   More information regarding this project next month.

Margaret Jenkins 

The U3A Benalla Committee has started to think about courses for 2024.  We have the offer of a Social Chess group from Doug Smith as Convenor.  Social Chess could start this year if members are interested and would be an alternative to people playing Chess online.  For players of all levels, those playing would be matched with a partner of a similar level, be it experienced, intermediate or beginner where numbers allow.  If you are interested, please contact Doug Smith on 0417 527 171.

The second course being considered for 2024 is French Conversation. Our German group has thrived under Horst Gunther, which makes us think that a French conversation group could be worthwhile. We have a probable Convenor for this group, and more information will be available later in the year.

The third course we are investigating for 2024, Pickleball, was prompted by Judy Amery, who attended a recent ‘come and try day’ in Benalla. Pickleball can be played either indoors or outdoors on a court similar to a badminton court. It is flexible in numbers with groups of 4, 8 or 12 for doubles. Singles can also be played.

The Committee are interested to hear about any other ideas for new groups in 2024.

It is envisaged that the U3A office will be open half a day a week, as from early January 2024. There will be a roster which we hope will be filled not only by members of the committee, but also other U3A members. Some training will be available on policies and procedures, equipment and so on. The value of having the office open is that members of the public can ask about our programs, get a tour of the building and obtain membership forms. If you are interested in helping with this opening of the office, please contact me on 5762 6944.

We have applied for a Get Online Week grant from the Good Things Foundation. We are planning on holding a BBQ on Wednesday 18th October at 12 noon, and hopefully enjoying lunch on the veranda of the Benalla Seniors Centre. More details in our next Newsletter.

U3A Benalla have been notified that we have been granted a speaking slot at the meeting of Benalla Rural City Council on 28 August. This will allow us to make our argument for an increase in the number of meeting rooms available at the Benalla Senior and Community Centre in Fawckner Drive. We are well aware that we have very limited capacity available in these rooms for future increase in programs.


​Margaret Jenkins 

The weather has become colder in June but groups are still meeting and enjoying their programs in various ways. Exploring the Universe have been having impressive numbers of members at their meetings, whilst Community Singing shared one of their June meetings with Cooinda residents in the Alice Goulding wing at Cooinda.

We have a program for Semester 2 of 2023 which commences in July attached to this Newsletter for all to see the changes that have been made. The most notable is the starting of the Demystifying Psychology course with Jane Rushworth on the third Tuesday of the month from 10am in our U3A room. Please contact Jane on 0437 621 575 if you would like to attend.

The Committee would like to thank Benalla Rural City Council for the $500 grant received last month by U3A Benalla toward the hire of the Hub at Cooinda for our Singing for Fun and Community Singing group sessions.

Tom Arnold from Benalla Rural City Council will be the guest speaker at July Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 19th July at 10am. Tom, who spoke at our AGM, will give us an update on the Fawckner Drive Precinct. Since our AGM this has been revised by the Landscape Architects and presented to the Councillors at a meeting late in June. I would encourage as many U3A members as possible to attend.

​
Margaret Jenkins
President

The weather has become colder in June but groups are still meeting and enjoying their programs in various ways. Exploring the Universe have been having impressive numbers of members at their meetings, whilst Community Singing shared one of their June meetings with Cooinda residents in the Alice Goulding wing at Cooinda.

We have a program for Semester 2 of 2023 which commences in July attached to this Newsletter for all to see the changes that have been made. The most notable is the starting of the Demystifying Psychology course with Jane Rushworth on the third Tuesday of the month from 10am in our U3A room. Please contact Jane on 0437 621 575 if you would like to attend.

The Committee would like to thank Benalla Rural City Council for the $500 grant received last month by U3A Benalla toward the hire of the Hub at Cooinda for our Singing for Fun and Community Singing group sessions.

Tom Arnold from Benalla Rural City Council will be the guest speaker at July Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 19th July at 10am. Tom, who spoke at our AGM, will give us an update on the Fawckner Drive Precinct. Since our AGM this has been revised by the Landscape Architects and presented to the Councillors at a meeting late in June. I would encourage as many U3A members as possible to attend.
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Margaret Jenkins

Semester 2 commences in July 2023.  We are pleased to announce the return of the popular five-session course Demystifying Psychology, convened by Jane Rushworth and held in our U3A room on the third Tuesday from 10am to 12 noon.  If you would like to attend, please phone Jane on 0437 621 575.

Members should note that the Demystifying Psychology Discussion Group is now meeting in the back room of the Ruby Blue Café on the 3rd Thursday from 2pm to 4pm.   The Photography course run by Rene Martens is having a break over winter and will reconvene late September.   Tech Savvy Beginners will cut back to two sessions on the 1st and 2nd Thursdays 10am to 12 noon whilst Tech Advice will continue with Robyn and Jenny by appointment. Chat’n’Chew is moving to the second Friday as from the June meeting,  while Cards ‘500’ has added extra session on the first Wednesday from 2 to 4 to its regular session on the 3rd Wednesday.  

We would like to thank the Convenors of courses finishing at the end of Semester 1 which have been enjoyed by U3A members, and hope that these courses will restart in 2024.  The courses which are ending at the end of Semester 1 include “Enjoying the Internet” run by Dawn Stephens, “Be Connected --Managing Money Online” run by Jenny Sawyer and Robyn Lukey and “Tech Savvy Apple – Pages” run by Jenny Sawyer.

U3A Benalla would like to thank the Benalla Rural City Council for the Grant of $1250 recently received towards the purchase of our new photocopier.  Whilst this is less than we applied for, we appreciate that Council has given 32 grants to community organisations.  

At the May U3A Benalla Committee meeting it was decided to defer the time tabling of regular office hours at the U3A office until January 2024.  In the meantime, notices are going to be put up on entrance doors giving phone numbers where U3A can be contacted.
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On 26th April Geraldine and I met with Greg Robertson and Elise Wood from the Facilities Department of the Benalla Rural City Council to discuss the Submission which U3A Benalla had made to Council regarding more space in future years. We discussed options for expansion to the north or south of the building, and also the possibility of going upwards.

None of this is going to happen unless there is a large grant available from either the State or Federal Government. But at least we have got our future requirements documented and on the BRCC Council Plan.   At the conclusion of our discussion, we were told that we will get a time slot at a future Council meeting to present our case for expansion to the Councillors.

We also discussed the naming of this building.  In the past this building has been known as the Benalla Senior Citizens and Community Centre. But times have changed, and U3A Benalla are a significant group sharing the building. So, we floated the idea of changing the name of the building to the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre.   There was no opposition from the Council representatives.

Subsequently we met with representatives of the Council and Senior Citizens, and Val Burke, President of the Senior Citizens, was also agreeable to the change in the name of the building.   This is a significant step forward.   However, it still needs to be ratified by the CEO and the Councillors of the BRCC.
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Margaret Jenkins
President

Thank you to all the Convenors for attending the Convenor’s afternoon in late March. The Committee values all the courses and the Convenors who run them. The feedback we got concerning how you are managing the increased group size this year was positive. We took on board the fact that a hearing loop could be of benefit in the Auditorium, and will discuss this with the Council representatives in a few days’ time.

In early April Geraldine and I attended the North East Regional meeting which was held by Zoom. We heard about some interesting online courses which can be considered for 2024. We reported our 10% increase in membership for 2023, and found that a 3% increase was deemed acceptable by Melbourne branches. Our latest membership is 371 which is very satisfying.

During the last fortnight a device has been installed in our photocopier so that we now have the facility to copy straight from a USB which can be inserted into the photocopier. This should assist several Convenors in preparing material for their groups.

We are investigating having someone from the Committee available to members in the U3A office half a day a week. Next month we should have more details available.

Following discussion with Cr Danny Claridge at our AGM, U3A were encouraged to submit a Submission to Benalla Rural City Council concerning the development of the Fawckner Drive Precinct area. U3A have requested that land directly behind the current Benalla Senior’s building be set aside for future development of extra rooms for U3A and other senior activities. We have also asked that our request for extra rooms be placed on the Council Plan for consideration when Federal or State Government funds are available.

We have received a request from Carer Gateway to publicise their activities to support people who are caring for a person who has a disability, illness, addiction, mental health problem or who is frail due to age in Benalla. Whilst we are aware that many U3A members have caring responsibilities in their family, space in our newsletter does not allow the publication of all their articles. However, Carer Gateway can be contacted on www.carergateway.gov.au or on 1800 422 737

We have been asked to publicise members recently elected to the U3A Benalla Committee. The following form your committee.

President: Margaret Jenkins; Secretary Geraldine McCorkell; Treasurer Neville Gibb; Vice President: Anne Nelson; Immediate past president: Dorothy Webber; Membership Secretary Len Jeffers; Newsletter Editor: Heather Wallace; Publicity Officer: David Palmer; Assistant Treasurer: Corrie Witlox; Committee members: Lorraine Knox, Nicole McFarlane, Julie McNeill.

Hope you have all enjoyed the wonderful weather in late April for our U3A activities.

Margaret Jenkins

"2022 has been a year of rebuilding for U3A Benalla after two difficult years of Covid restrictions. In the North East region of Victoria, there are 15 U3A groups stretching from Kilmore to Albury, with a combined membership of 1700. The Goulburn Valley, which includes Shepparton and Mooroopna had the largest number of members in April 2022 with 334. Benalla had 308 members and Albury 307. So, coming out of Covid we were doing very well.

The reason for U3A Benalla’s strength is the variety of groups we offer. In 2022 we offered 44 different programs, each co-ordinated by a Convenor who was passionate about their topic. My thanks goes to each of these Convenors for the time they spend organising and presenting their particular program. All the programs are valued.

We have outside programs such as Easy Walks, Bird Watching, Garden Appreciation, the Garden Team who donate their time and effort to helping with a particular member’s garden and Wine Appreciation. Then there are many programs held in our U3A room. These include Collectors, Coin Collectors, Politics and Current Affairs, Patchwork, Investment, Stock and Land, German, Play Reading, Tech Savvy Android phones, Tech Savvy Apple Pages, Family Research and others. There are also programs which use other venues such as Art Appreciation which meets in the Benalla Art Gallery, Singing for Fun and Community Singing which meet in the Hub at Cooinda, and Chat’n’Chew which meet at various restaurants.

At the March 2023 Committee meeting we learnt that we had 361 members, which is a record high membership for U3A Benalla. 62 of these members have joined U3A Benalla for the first time this year. We have several new programs this year which includes Ukes4Fun which meet every Monday in this Auditorium and strum their Ukuleles around the projector installed by Benalla Rural City Council last year. There is also the Photography course conducted by Rene Martens, Enjoying the Internet with Dawn Stephens, the Wise Guys book group with David Palmer, In the lap of the Gods with John Barry, the Jane Austen Book Club with Meg Dillon, and the Sky’s the Limit with Claire Rudolph. Each of these new courses in 2023 have started well with excellent enrolments.

Communication within U3A Benalla is very important. I would like to thank Heather Wallace, our Newsletter Editor and Bev Lee who runs our excellent website. In June 2022 U3A Network, the Victorian governing U3A organisation, ran a photo competition showing activities at various U3A’s throughout Victoria. Approximately half the photos came from our website. Well done, Bev. Your work is appreciated not only by members of U3A Benalla but also by the wider U3A community.

Next, I would like to thank the Committee of U3A Benalla. Every person on the Committee has done an excellent job during the last 12 months, and the Committee has been a great help to me in many ways. I would like to particularly thank Geraldine McCorkell our Secretary, Len Jeffers our Membership Secretary, and David Palmer of Publicity Officer. My thanks also to Deb Goodrich who is retiring from the Committee.

I would like to thank Terry Case for his outstanding contribution to U3A Benalla over many years. Terry was President from 2014 to 2017, past President from 2017 to 2021, Convenor of both Politics and Current Affairs and Australian History courses each for over 10 years, and a great supporter of U3A Benalla. For his outstanding contribution, the Committee have decided to award him Life Membership of U3A Benalla.

Looking to the future. Our numbers have increased by over 10% this year. The timetable for our U3A room took four Committee people four hours to organise. Our second room only holds 10 people, so there are only a small number of courses for which this second room can be used.

The U3A Committee think that the expansion of our footprint will become a necessity within the next two years. U3A Benalla’s preferred option would be another two rooms at the rear of the current building. We cater for retired or semi-retired people over 55 years of age. In the 2021 census, 46% of Benalla’s population were 55 years or older, compared to the Victorian average of 28%. So, the need for our organisation is here. Our current membership of 361 is a record high for U3A Benalla. The number of members in groups such as Garden Appreciation 77, Exercises for Fun 74, Wine Appreciation 66 is impressive. Groups using our U3A room such as Patchwork and Craft with 24 members are at capacity.

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Margaret Jenkins