Chairperson AGM Report 2021
The 2021 AGM report for the Cherry Gardens Community Association and Cherry Chatter.
A big thank you to all our committee members and Cherry Chatter deliverers for their ongoing efforts in 2020. Also, a very big thank you to all the regular contributors to the Cherry Chatter newsletters and all those local businesses that advertise and help us to be sustainable year after year.
A few special thanks:
To Vicki and Bev for their efforts to get the monthly CC editions edited and published
To Emmanuelle for the monthly updates to the website
To Marg for paying the bills and keeping track of all finance matters
And to Mel as a newbie for helping with the CC Facebook etc.
So, 2020 was a very unusual year for us and for the world with the pandemic that none of us could have foreseen just 12 months ago at the 2020 AGM. Everything changed last year in more ways that we could have expected. Fortunately for Australians we are in a pretty good place and we need to be thankful for that.
In 2020 the Cherry Chatter committee held our first online ZOOM committee meeting, and we had a socially distanced ANZAC Day service. Those of us that still work had to learn how to work from home and we all ended up spending months locked away from family and friends in order not to spread the virus. Our local sporting clubs closed their doors as did so many businesses. But we came through it and in the end, there was a half a season of footy (and a premiership) and the Recreation Ground ended up getting used more than it ever had with people going there to meet, exercise their dogs, have a beer after golf and just get some fresh air.
In 2020 we continued to publish the newsletter and we assisted a number of local organisations including
The local football club with a $500 sponsorship
The CFS with a $500 donation towards purchase of a portable 2-way radio
The local Netball club with $250 to purchase additional chairs as a result of COVID restrictions.
The CFS Air Support group with a donation of around $800 for materials to build a volunteer shelter.
The council has once again supported us by paying the Cherry Chatter to include their 2-page information flyer each month. This small amount helps us with the monthly printing costs.
I applied for a grant “Saluting Their Service” community commemorative grant program in early 2020 to prepare and make a couple of signs for the Soldiers Memorial Park. I was successful with this application and we received $1,444 towards these signs. The work is continuing to get this completed. I also applied for a Grant recently under the Stronger Communities programme to build a Community recovery trailer similar to what Scott Creek have but was unsuccessful. With help from Brian Sims we are also working towards getting power and LED lighting at the Soldiers Memorial Park.
As mentioned earlier due to the COVID restrictions we had to cancel the normal community ANZAC Day service and breakfast however as a committee we met and held our own brief service to reflect on the sacrifices of the men from our district and across Australia and New Zealand.
Last year I mentioned about Cherry Gardens being in the news and unfortunately this year we were again in the news due to the bushfire that started on January 24th. I have never heard Cherry Gardens being mentioned so many times in news services, newspapers and just in conversation everywhere. I think we were all very lucky that day and the following weeks, but it is so terrible to see what that fire did to the Scott Creek Conservation Park and the Mt Bold Reserve as well as to those people directly affected.
Last year we submitted a petition to the State Government regarding the use of the CFS siren when the district is in danger and as it happened on the Friday prior to this bushfire a letter from the government minister was sent through to Steve Murray essentially agreeing to our request. A little more work needs to be done to finalise this however it is a win for our community. We are still waiting for an upgrade to the Mobile phone coverage with a new repeater that supposedly will be installed on the NBN tower.
We have had quite a few newcomers to the district in the last year and our tradition of giving out a Welcome Pack continued. Thanks to Kerry and everyone who organises these. This will be our 29th year which is something we should be proud of. Again, I would really hope we can encourage a few younger and energetic locals to get involved.
Let’s hope that 2021 is a good year for the Cherry Gardens community and the world in general as we enter the second year of this COVID pandemic.
Don Watton