Page 15 - Friendships Through the Years

CHAPTER TWO

PRESIDENT: STAN MOSER 1983 – 1984.

e have seen that the inaugural meeting of the Club was on Thursday 2nd June
1983 at the Uniting Church Hall Lilydale. At this meeting, once the formal
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motion to form the new club had been passed, Rotary Club President Colin
Dean (who was still in the chair) called for the necessary motions regarding Constitution,
election of office bearers and committee, venue, entrance fee and annual subscription.
When this formal business was complete, Stan gave a brief address and closed the
meeting.
The Inaugural meeting, the Committee Meeting and the first full meeting in July
were held at the Uniting Church Hall, Lilydale and there was a general understanding that
the Church Hall was to be our future meeting place. The Probus Club of Lilydale
Newsletter No. 2 for August 1983 said:
Our August meeting nearly wasn’t! On arrival at the Hall we found that Whelan
the Wrecker (or his local equivalent) was well dug in and making his presence
heard. The big reconstruction project was under way. As our usual meeting place
was inaccessible and the main Hall had been furnished for Church services, we
decided to hold our meeting in the kitchen/vestry at the rear of the hall. Three of
our ladies, Mesdames. Adamson, Coates and Warne, together with some 13
members attended. After the shortest meeting yet (13 minutes !) chaired by
Secretary Bob Shellard (Our President Stan and Vice President Keith McLennan
were “up North”) we adjourned for morning coffee . . . not all that easy, as the
water supply had been cut off.

(The bottom paragraph of the Newsletter read: ‘REMEMBER: September 1st at 10 a.m.
SOMEWHERE on the block and BYO (water that is!)’

Still quoting from Newsletters, Number 3 for September 1983 commenced with:

Because of unfavorable conditions caused by building operations at the Uniting
Church, our September meeting was held at the Lilydale Elderly Citizen’s Club,
and future meetings will be held at this venue unless otherwise advised. We are
indebted to that Club for their co-operation.

Meetings were held in three different rooms at the Elderly Citizen’s Club from
September 1983 until April 1993, after which time we moved to the Athenaeum Theatre,
but more of that further on into the History - ten years actually!
Since I have quoted from the second Newsletter (above) it is perhaps appropriate
to quote items of interest garnered from that first year’s Minutes to give some impression
of how much things have changed since that time (especially costs) and to record the
decisions and ‘flavour’ of the meetings. (The author’s comments are in brackets:[…]
(Ed.))
P.O. Box 238, Lilydale Post Office. Authorized to be rented at $18 per annum.