Committee for Lorne: Lorne Community Connect Inc.

Last year the future of the Lorne Senior Citizens Club, through no fault of the committee or the leadership, was looking bleak. It is a reality facing most seniors’ clubs in the state that; we are living longer, people retire at a later age, we are more affluent and mobile. A sense prevails that “I’m 60, but I don’t regard myself as a senior”. As a result active membership is declining.

The Senior Citizens building was constructed on the old Gracedale site and opened in 1988. It was a hard fought addition to our community’s facilities, thanks to the tenacity of Eva Norton and her team. It was a focal point for the retired people of Lorne. There were regular gatherings and activities including indoor bowls, billiards and trips away. It was a growing and active club, but now with fewer members, the activities and therefore the use of the facility has declined and it now operates at a loss.

The facility currently hosts the Lorne RSL sub-branch Anzac Day service and the Lorne Lions Club Easter Art Show. It is used by the organisers of the Falls Festival and the Amy Gillett Gran Fondo. Each Wednesday the seniors have a lunch. There are regular exercise classes and a quilting group. Individual rooms and the entire facility are available for hire. However, it is vacant for a large part of the week and year.

Thanks to the offer of support from Lesley and Clive Goldsworthy, Maxine Spizzica and Wendy Hutchison, the committee continued to operate. It became obvious to them that if the facility is to have a future for community use, there has to be a rethink of its purpose, whilst continuing its traditional use by the seniors group and existing users. At the annual general meeting held last week, the members took several bold and visionary steps. They voted to change the name of the organisation to Lorne Community Connect Inc., to update the constitution to incorporate the current model rules and to expand the capacity of people in the community to become financial members by relaxing the eligibility age.

The new committee is a blend of new and past members, thus the experience and knowledge of the past is not lost and members with fresh insights are included. Our challenge is to reach out to the Lorne community for ideas and support. How can you help?

Become a member, the annual fee is $10. This will raise needed funds in the short-term, but more importantly it gives us a platform for long-term planning and growth. Membership forms can be obtained from the Lorne Visitors Information Centre and from committee members.
If you are in the hospitality business or you love catering, volunteer to cook lunch for one Wednesday a year. At the time of writing we have two businesses committed.
We will require a new logo. If you have expertise in this area please forward your suggestions and/or designs to our secretary Wendy Hutchison on the Lorne Community Connect email address by the end of June.

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