FEBRUARY 2019

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. I hope you were able to catch up with family and friends, indulge in wining and dining, stay cool in the simmering heat and generally have a good time.

Many of you were able to make it to our Open Day on the 16th, which was the busiest Open Day I have seen. Those of you who didn’t make it will be able to complete membership forms, enroll in classes and pay fees at your first class of the year. 

Your new Committee has been working hard to prepare for the new year ahead. New classes, new tutors, new venues and even some new days are in the pipeline, so please remember to check the Class Schedule for details. The website has been recently updated, so you might also like to check that.

Susan Hayes

JANUARY 2019

All U3A Gympie activity winds down in December, as we prepare for the holidays, making for a quiet month.
But there are still a few things happening.
Our final Pub Lunch for the year was well attended and as delicious as always. U3A Gympie singers continued to shine. On the 12th and the 19th December, Retro Jukebox Singers, Tempo and Joanna & Ralph all entertained at the Mary Christmas festivities, Lynlie had a lovely promotional display and everyone had a good time.
The sudden closure of the library has thrown planning for 2019 into disarray, but everything will be sorted by the Open Day.
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all at the Open Day in January

Susan Hayes

DECEMBER 2018

November was a relatively quiet month. We renewed our website hosting. If you have yet to check it out, please do so, and let me know of anything would like to see added.

We held our AGM, with a few changes to the Committee membership.

Our end of year lunch was held immediately after the AGM. This year it was a bring-a-plate function, with dessert catered. The food laid out proved to be as delicious as it looked. The event wrapped up with some entertainment and a lucky door prize. We were well fed and well entertained. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the lunch so enjoyable.

On the following Friday we had the last Coffee With Friends for the year. Even this late in the year, we had three new faces at the coffee morning. I hope to see those faces again at our various activities next year. I also hope to see more of all our members in the coming year.

The first event for 2019 will be our Open Day. At the Open Day you can renew your membership, sign up for your classes and see what new classes and social activities we have planned. You can also chat to a member of the Management Committee and share your ideas and comments. See you on 16th January.

Susan Hayes

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PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT 2018

2018 has been a varied year, with both positives and negatives scattered throughout.

January saw the launch of our new website u3agympie.com. This has most definitely been a positive. The website outlines all the basic information about us that members, prospective members and the just plain curious might want to know. It has a number of printable documents, including our Constitution, Activities Schedule and Newsletters. At the moment, the newsletters are from January to November. Once I add January 2019, I will delete January 2018 and continue deleting throughout the year, leaving the most recent 12 issues only. This will keep the PDF Documents list from becoming too long and cumbersome.

The Gallery on the website has, sadly, been something of a negative. It has only two pictures on it, both from our 50th Birthday Celebrations at this time last year. The problem isn’t a shortage of pictures, but a shortage of the necessary time to add them. I hope to rectify this once classes finish for this year and hope to add to that page more regularly in 2019.

The Newsletters this year have also been somewhat variable. On the up side, I have streamlined it down to just two pages, with few pictures and no repetition. Hopefully this makes it much more reader friendly for those of you reading on a mobile phone. On the downside, while the newsletter should come out on the first of the month, this hasn’t always happened. That is down to me. The position of News Editor has remained vacant all year, so I have been filling in. I hope that will change after the elections later in this meeting.

The Activities Schedule acquired a new look, with the addition of a Social Events column. This gives you more advance notice of social activities to allow you to better plan your time. The Dates to Remember box in the Newsletters also facilitates this. Sadly, these measures don’t seem to have translated into greater participation in our social activities, and our offerings will be need to be reconsidered for 2019.

U3A Network Queensland State Conference was hosted by U3A Redcliffe in May. It was an enjoyable two days with useful information and pleasant surroundings. Keynote Speaker William McInnes was very entertaining.

In June a number of members enjoyed a cruise on the Great Barrier Reef. On board we enjoyed friendly competitions, easy craft activities, great stage shows and themed parties. On shore, we chose from a variety of excursions, visiting markets, joy flights and wildlife experiences. This became the first trip taken by the newly created Travel group. A trip across the Nullarbor aboard the Indian Pacific is currently being planned and we are open to other suggestions.

In October we played host to committee members from five U3As for a workshop on Disability and Discrimination Legislation. Some funding was provided by U3A Network Queensland towards what proved to be a very interesting and informative morning. I have also been working with Fleur Grainger, Vice president U3A Howard. She is currently putting together a website for Howard and I am helping her with that. I hope in the future we are able to work with other U3As in a supportive and collaborative way more often.

I would like to finish by saying thank you. The Management Committee has seen some changes in membership since the last AGM, and my thanks go to everyone who has participated, whether or not they saw out the whole year. The work put in by everyone has kept U3A Gympie playing a positive role in the lives of its members. I thank you for your hard work and for your support of me as your President, it is greatly appreciated. . I also extend my thanks to all those who have acted as Tutors, Facilitators and Helpers throughout the year. We would cease to function if it weren’t for your efforts and they are greatly appreciated. Thanks also to all the members – you are the lifeblood of U3A Gympie.

I wish everyone an enjoyable holiday season and look forward to seeing you in 2019.

Susan Hayes