20th Birthday
Our Club History - August 2004 to September 2024 –20 years
We are a Not for Profit Organisation under the umbrella of Life Activities Club Victoria, our objective is to enhance lives for those approaching or in retirement, to develop and maintain an active lifestyle that enhances good health and wellbeing by offering social, physical and recreational opportunities and experiences in a safe and friendly environment.
There was a Public meeting conducted by Cr Anne Shaw in August 2004 to establish interest in forming a Life Activities Club in Mornington. This was well attended, a Committee was formed and by December when the first members meeting was held there were 98 financial members. The committee had activities lined up and the club was on its way to becoming a huge success. There was a Cinema Group, Walking Group, Craft Group and Dine-outs which most are still an integral part of what we do today.
Some of the other activities introduced in the following years were Table Tennis, BBQ’s, Walking with Dogs, (aka Didyabringyadogalong), Gardeners Club, Darts, Ten Pin Bowling, Chess, Art and Sketching, Coffee Mornings, Yoga, Theatre, Book Club, Trivia, Day Outings, Cycling and Happy Hour. The club was doing well, creating interest within the community, the club was in it’s prime. We took part in the Ageing Well Festivals and held many a lunch at various venues for Seniors Week, Melbourne Cup and Oaks Day when all in attendance played the part and dressed in their finer glory with hats, fascinators etc.
In August 2009 there was a proposal put forward and accepted to become incorporated and change the name from Life Activities Club – Mornington to Mornington Life Activities Club Inc.
We participated in the Australia Day Parade 2011 and 2012, with members marching down Main Street carrying our banner and displaying a list of Activities ever so proudly.
At one time the city office held a photo competition and we sent in a photo that was taken at Table Tennis and it was awarded as highly commended. We entered again a year or two later, without success, I think that photo of people piled on a bed was a bit too risque, the photo was taken at an outing to The Ballarat Begonia Festival, those of you that are here will remember that, it was great fun, but maybe a little too much wine.
On the Administration side, in 2015 the committee decided that we were needed to introduce EFT Bank Transfers which was well received by all members. Then in 2018 our finances were also needing to move forward so we computerised our Financial Accounting to QuickBooks Accounting package which we are still using today.
In 2019 there came the challenge of our Website which would incorporate our main database and give us the opportunity of liaising with members far easier, quicker and more efficiently than other options that were previously available to us. At that stage, this was quite a task, but we embraced the opportunity and we were one of the first clubs selected by Life Activities Victoria to be given the opportunity to undergo training and have our website go live in May 2019.
Then came Covid, things came to a halt with us all grounded, with no activities, we thought what on earth were we going to do. It was decided to try an Online Members Chat Group via Zoom to keep our members together and engaged in a social activity. We had Chat Days, Games Days, Armchair Travel Days and Happy Hour on Friday evenings with President Bob which was great as we had dress ups and theme evenings and even played cards to make it fun for all. We had our nibbles and glasses of wine and certainly tried to make the most of what we could do.
At the members meeting in July this year there was unanimous support to change the club name from Mornington Life Activities Club Inc, to Mornington Peninsula Life Activities Club Inc. This will hopefully create broader appeal for people living outside of Mornington and hopefully increase our membership.
As we embark on our 20th Birthday we are basically back to pre Covid days with lots of activities, however we are a little short on social dining. I am sure that Shelley our Activities Coordinator would be delighted if you could come forward and convene a lunch or dinner, even if it’s only once a year, every little helps to keep our wonderful club, wonderful.
And lastly, on behalf of all members our thanks to those that have served on the committee in the past that have built a rock strong foundation for our current committee to build on, and create an even stronger club for the future.
HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY MORNINGTON PENINSULA LIFE ACTIVITIES CLUB
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