Committee For Lorne: A word from the Chairman – July 12, 2018

One of our great local clubs is the Lorne Country Club, which – with its small membership base of just over 260 – provides and maintains a nine golf course and multiple tennis courts for the use of its members and public alike. It is such a brilliant facility that offers our locals and visitors a fantastic, year round experience, overlooking Louttit Bay. The core membership makes an enormous contribution, volunteering hundreds of man hours on a regular basis to maintain the facilities and resource the licensed premises.

Though the summer months, the Club has been fortunate to have a group of our non-permanent residents give up hours of their holiday time to voluntarily occupy the green fee boxes to collect fees from visitors using and loving the course. The Committee of the Club have been extremely diligent in maintaining a strict budget while at the same time adding to the facility in negotiating contracts with experienced, well credentialed caterers, again all on a volunteer basis.

What many don’t realise is that, unlike many other Clubs from where our visitors hail, we do not have the turnover of year round golfers and tennis players to be able to afford the offerings that many expect and are used to with the Clubs with which they may be associated. But for Lorne people, we get used to that, and it doesn’t matter whether it be the Lorne Aquatic and Anglers Club, Lorne Football and Netball, Lorne Surf Club, Lorne Community Hospital Shop or in fact most local organisations full stop – its something we do and we are proud of.

Every now and then one of these local groups need a little “extra help” and right now it’s our local Country Club who are looking to complete two important projects to ensure the long term sustainability of our Club. The Committee has received expert advice from structural engineer identifying a number of structural issues in regard to the Clubhouse. There is also a need to upgrade two tennis courts from red porous to synthetic grass courts.

The Club does not qualify for any Council grants (even though we provide public courts for general use given that, unlike neighboring towns, there are no other facilities), so the responsibility falls back onto our members and wider community to provide financial support for the works. The Lorne Country Club members have done an enormous amount of “heavy lifting” over the years to ensure our facilities are where they are today but right now we need your help.

Both of these projects have been registered with the Australian Sports Foundation, the Club’s funding partners, which means all donations are tax deductible, and all donors will be recognised by the Club. I urge you to do what you can to help (www.tinyurl.com-Tennis or www.tinyurl.com/LCC-Clubhouse) and ensure that the facilities of the one of Australia’s best Country Clubs with ocean views, are maintained and improved for future generations!

Ian Stewart
Chairman – Committee for Lorne