City of Albury RSL Sub-Branch

City of Albury
    RSL Sub-Branch
    527 Wilson Street ALBURY NSW 2640
Postal address: PO Box 175 ALBURY NSW 2640
               Phone: 02 6021 1341
     Email: information@alburyrsl.org.au
       Website: www.alburyrsl.org.au

                                                        all
                                                 lease c t
                                              .P        di
                                    ar r ived ou nee
                                ve          if y
                      a r d s ha know
                    pc          u s
             b ershi p, or let sted.
       Mem pick u              po
        in to

City of Albury Sub-Branch 2020 Committee
Patron The Hon Sussan Ley, MP             Historian Howard Jones, OAM

    President       Vice President      Secretary        Treasurer
Graham Docksey,       & Welfare        Mark Lunnon      Jan Francis
   OAM, JP         Harry Hacking, JP
              Proposed Committee Appointments 2020
           Assistant Secretary: Pauline McLeod
           Assistant Treasurer:: Jodie Hudson
           Assets Officer: Ann Martin
           Assistant Assets Manager: Bill Godde
           Welfare Officer: Barry Howard
           Membership Officer: Jan Francis
           Funerals Officer: Harry Hacking, JP
           Activities Officer: Gary Treeve
           Security Officer:Mark Lunnon
           Purchasing Officer: Noel Francis
           IT Officer: Noel Francis
           Media Officer: Graham Docksey, OAM, JP
           Fundraising Officers: Jeanette & Noel Francis
           Newsletter Editor: Jeanette Francis
           Library Coordinator: Jodie Hudson
Welfare Team:         Funerals Team               Fundraising Team
Barry Howard          Harry Hacking, JP           Jeanette Francis
Harry Hacking JP      Graham Docksey OAM,JP       Noel Francis
Peter Jansen                                      Pauline McLeod
Jodie Hudson          Chaplain                    Dani Jourdain
                      Fr Alan Kelb, OAM

Your Sub-Branch meets the third Sunday of each month
               Commencing at 11am

            Next Meeting 19th July
               Lunch will be free
                 Guest Speaker :
      Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Little
               Royal Navy retired
      “My involvement in the Falklands War”

    SUB-BRANCH OFFICE HOURS
  TUES., WED., THUR. 10am - 12.30pm
          (Until further notice)
                   Thank you
           To all the volunteers who help:
              Manning the Reception desk,
        Looking after Pensions and Welfare,
               Assisting in the kitchen,
                       Catering,
                     Cleaning up,
            Setting up the meeting room,
                Cooking on the BBQ,
              Gardening and lawn care,
          Setting up chairs at outside events
                  and the committee
          for their ongoing dedication and
        compassion for their fellow members.

Upgrade to the Monument

           Spectacular at night

Introducing
Ann Martin: ex army Major
served for 43 years has been a
member of our Sub Branch for
a couple of years. Ann will be
looking after the Assets of our
Sub Branch.

Jodie Hudson : ex army
Corporal served for 13 years
and has recently been
medically discharged. Jodie
brings a younger presence to
our Sub Branch and would
like to train as an advocate.

   Sarah Charlton: the new
 Soldier On Pathways Officer
Sarah has a background in
community development and
education and has fulfilled
community roles working with all
ages, diverse backgrounds and
abilities. She is also a defence spouse
of 17 years.

MEMBERSHIP CARDS
    The new membership cards have arrived.
       These cards are a permanent card and will be
   replaced if loss or damaged. You will be required to
   fill out a statutory declaration.
   You will be required to pay membership annually as
   usual.

   Membership for 2021should all be paid by 1st January
   but we will relax this closing time until the end of
   February.
   The sub branch is billed for the entire membership in
   one payment.
Ex Service Women’s Association - Albury
Welcome to our news again and a reminder that we would still very much
like to welcome any ladies interested in joining us as a member.
Meetings are held second Tuesday each month at 11.30am at ANZAC
House 527 Wilson Street Albury.
We have lunches arranged - day trips to enjoy
We have our own Welfare Officer for anyone needing help or advice.
Please ring Marj 6025 8197 (LEAVE A MESSAGE) or 0409038953 if
you would like to enquire about coming along.
Love to see you - join us and meet some old and new friends.
Have some input as to what we as a group can do to enjoy ourselves
We have a friendly mix of age rank & service among us & can still relate
to each other as Ex-service ladies Looking forward to another year ahead
.

ANZAC Day in lockdown

                 Want Something to do on Thursdays?

                 Why not come and join in with the fun and frivolity of our
                 Day Club?
We meet each Thursday at ANZAC house in Wilson Street Albury from
10am-2pm and is open to senior members of the Albury community.
Our programme includes: Gentle exercises, quizzes, games, social
activities, guest speakers, entertainment and occasional bus trips.
We have morning tea and lunch every week Contribution weekly is $5 If you
need door to door transport, this can be provided for an additional small cost
of $5. For information about becoming a member please contact :
The Link Club coordinator Danny on 047 224 751
or Jan on 0418 418 159

DAY CLUB WILL RESUME WHEN THE ALL CLEAR IS GIVEN BY
                   HEAD OFFICE.

PENSION AND WELFARE HELP???
  Don’t forget that if you require a pension
            or welfare assistance,
                please phone
   ANZAC House (Albury) 02 6021 1241
          for an appointment.
       If you would like a home visit,
          please leave your details at
               ANZAC House
     527 Wilson Street Albury NSW 2640
              YOUR SUB-BRANCH
Volunteers are the mainstay of operations, without them
     your Sub-Branch would not continue to exist.
 Volunteers include Welfare Officers, who work closely
with all ex-service organizations and the Department of
                    Veteran’s Affairs.
We also need volunteers to look after the reception desk.
       We are always looking for volunteers.
   If you have some spare time on your hands,
               please give us a ring
  The Veterans Support Centre relies on generosity of
        donations to off-set our running costs.

YOUR PRESIDENTS CORNER – MAY 2020
Greetings to you in your place of isolation. I write this article from my home
office. I hope that you are all well and apologize that we are unable to hold our
monthly meetings for a while. At the Annual General Meeting in March the
membership elected a new Executive Committee for three years. I am pleased to
have been re-elected as your President, a position that I very much enjoy in
continuing to further enhance ANZAC House and our local memorials. Your
Executive Committee continues to act ethically, and I thank them for their
support. Further committee appointments are on hold until I can bring the
membership together.
When I look back over the past twelve months we have again been successful
on several occasions in securing grants that have allowed us to continue the
program of maintaining and upgrading ANZAC House for the benefit of both
our members and the community groups that use ANZAC House for meetings
and training. The last grant was from the Commercial Club for the placement of
the plaques recovered from the Albury War Memorial. See photos in this
edition of your newsletter.
Nursing Home visits have been discontinued in line with the present restrictions
as are RSL funerals. The Welfare team have been making phone calls to check
on some members. If you want a call or further follow-up on any matter, please
call the office and leave a message as staff are only there on restricted hours.
The refurbishment of the Albury War Memorial is nearing completion and was
delayed given the restriction on trade between Australia and China. The cost of
this project is $1.350 million. I was focused over the Christmas period with
researching and the drafting of new plaques and interpretative panels for the
project. The work around the memorial is complete and looking first class. See
photos in this edition. The new plaques will be delivered next month and are
expected to be in position by July. The next major project that I am working on
is the refurbishment of the World War Two Bowl on the Eastern Side of
Monument Hill. To date I have had several visits with council staff to finalise
the details for the project.
ANZAC Day this year was most unusual as there were no services apart from
those being broadcast. On a personal level I was most impressed with the
community engagement with both the day itself and the days and weeks leading
up to ANZAC Day.
The New South Wales Government has released details of the Regional Seniors
Travel Card. See details further in this edition.
My final point concerns the membership of the sub-Branch and the aging of our
members. I ask you to seek out new members and volunteers. Please speak with
the Secretary Mark Lunnon as to how you can assist.
Best wishes to you all.
Graham, May 2020

IMPROVEMENTS TO ANZAC HOUSE

           Delivered                               Installed

Plaques removed from the monument were delivered to ANZAC House
to be installed in the yard as part of our consecrated memorial garden.
New plaques are being installed in the upgrade on Monument Hill.
Cost of installing the plaques in the yard and also the concrete surrounds
to all gardens was met by a generous grant from the Commercial Club
which we received before lock-down.

                            ********
 All our gardens now have a neat concrete edges this will make the
 mowing of the lawns easier.

Regional Seniors Travel Card
Have you got your’s yet?

You have until 30th November 2020 to apply for a regional seniors travel
card.
You can apply online, call 137788 or if restrictions are eased visit
Service NSW.
Once you receive your card you have 45 days to activate your card and
then you have 12 months to use your card from the date of activation.
The regional seniors travel card provides eligible seniors living in
regional. Rural and remote areas of NSW with a $250 prepaid card to
help ease the cost of travel. You can use the card at certain retailers to
pay for pre-booked NSW Train link Regional trains and coaches, fuel
and taxis.
Are you eligible?
If you are receiving the Age Pension or hold a Commonwealth Seniors
Card with Service NSW
Or receiving Age Pension, Service Pension, Disability Pension under
Veterans Entitlement Act 1986 or a War Widow(er) Pension, then you
are eligible.
You must also have received you pension or have held your card for at
least one month.
 Safe and happy travels

Albury RSL Sub-Branch
PO Box 175
Albury NSW 2640