Our small contribution to the 

Bush fire Victims in Rappsville & Drake

The latest request from our Zone 8 Coordinator Ray Crawley  was calling on all sheds on the Central Coast to donate what they could afford  to buy much needed equipment for fencing being done by Blaze Aid. They had many volunteers but did not have enough equipment for them to be as useful as they could be.  
Our shed took this on board and after discussion with members decided to donate $500 which was used to buy some good quality equipment. Ray delivered all the donations to the 2 Blaze Aid camps at Casino and Drake. 
He also mentioned that the affected families had nothing left and was concerned the children of these families would not receive anything for Xmas and could the Sheds help. All the Sheds agreed to make toys, refurbish bikes etc that Ray would take up (via volunteers trailers), before Xmas and be given to the kids on the 25th.
All our members dropped everything they were doing, postponed all current projects and hopped to it. Some member's wives did the sewing for the small cradle mattresses and pillows we needed.

From your President a huge thanks to all of you for showing compassion toward your fellow Aussies who are in desperate need of help.

Here is our small contribution  

Neil Elliot   Cradle maker extraordinaire

Start of the cars, buses and semi trailers

Some of the cradles ready for assembly

These guys look happy with what they have done

Some of the assorted toys from our stock

All done ready to go

We once again participated in the annual Samaritans Xmas Box Appeal. Admin discussed with the  Samaritans and the members what they would like us to do this year. Because of the volume of Community work being undertaken at the time it was decided to forward $500 to assist with the transportation of the containers to the various countries. This contribution was extremely welcomed by Samaritans Administration.


Our AGM was held on Tuesday 6th August and was attended by more than 45 members.
It was good to see we needed to have a vote for most positions including the General Committee.
Thank you to all those members who nominated and were successful..  To those unsuccessful nominees please don't be disheartened as we need to continue with a succession plan for the future and you may be elected in the future.

Results of 2019-20 Annual General Meeting  

  Candidates returned 6/08/2019 as follows

Administration

      President        Fred Murray

  Vice President         Graham Craike

              Secretary         Richard Howison

       Treasurer          Fred Murray

     Public Officer          John Woodward

Committee

 Clive Tubnor

John Mills

Ron Belshaw

John Innis

Welfare Officer      Avery Pearce

 

A while ago a Doreen came to us with her beloved push bike that she used to ride to school way back when. It was so rusted & the frame was broken we suggested it be thrown on the tip. Apparently she had lent it to some family members & they had left it out in the elements for a long period until she happened to see it when visiting &  retrieved it. Horrified at our suggestion she pleaded with us to fix it or could we dispose of it as she couldn't bring herself to do it. John Devenport being the softie he is once again put his hand up to see what he could do with it but made no promises. He did not let it beat him & here are the results of his perseverance with new white wall tyres & tubes new pedals, new handle grips,new bell, new reflector & a complete re-spray after everything else repaired.  

Needless to say Doreen was so overjoyed she cried

Well done John but you need to learn how to say NO!!!

Bateau Bay Men's Shed was an idea proposed by Colleen Cooper who was an employee of ADSSI.
There was a building they had built at the rear of Tuggerah Lakes Community Centre that had become too small for their needs so it was just sitting vacant. She put the proposal to John Sharples & mentioned there was a $30,000 grant up for grabs. John couldn't believe his luck & jumped at the chance to start a shed in this area. He gathered together some other interested men & set the wheels in motion in June 2009. The initial members were John Sharples, Nigel Stretton, Barrie Mitchell, Kevin Armstrong, John Innis, David Boulton, Allen Booth. Kim Hopkins & of course Colleen Cooper.
Being our 10th year of successful operation the administration thought it would be appropriate to acknowledge these guys efforts in starting a men's facility which now has a membership of over 90 men. It was decided to offer all members a spit roast meal in the Community Centre function hall which 56 accepted. Also invited was Colin Hession (ADSSI), Colleen Cooper (Central Coast Health), John Sharples (representing AMSA), David Mehan MP for the Entrance. ADSSI also made a very generous donation of a $200 gift card which was much appreciated.
  On behalf of all members we would like to thank these Foundation Members for their dedication in setting up the shed & introducing a wide range of policies, thus making transitions & change in administration as easy & smooth as possible.

 

 Our Foundation Members

And with their appreciation awards

Left to right  John Innis John Sharples Colleen Cooper Kevin Armstrong 

Barrie Mitchell Nigel Stretton

Colleen Cooper our Shed Goddess

Our President with Colin Hesson from ADSSI

David Mehan Re-elected State MP for the Entrance

 Our invited guests were first to be served

 

Some of the members in for their chop

Sadly our shed lost another member, Bryan Frendin in May this year.
 He came to us through Centrelink to volunteer as per his Newstart obligations & joined in January 2014. Initially he was very tentative about his ability but the boys took him under their wing & gave him the confidence to have a go while being taught new skills. He became so skilled we could just ask him to make something from a drawing & he could do it without much help or guidance from other members. We only had to ask & Bryan was the first to put his hand to help.That's the sort of guy he was. It has been relayed to us by some of his friends he regarded our shed members as his family to the point he was cremated in his beloved Men;s Shed Shirt. A huge representation from our shed attended a testimonial at Toowoon Bay SLSC for the scattering of his ashes. 

RIP BRYAN..............YOU WILL BE MISSED

On Saturday 23/2/19 your President had a huge healthy tree come down in his backyard. The property's backyard faces Wyong Rd  Before he noticed it was down Austgrid were passing, attended the site & disconnected the power from the broken street light on the pole that was holding the tree up off the road. 

Our member phoned SES & although not life threatening at the time, if the pole snapped, someone in a passing vehicle could have been seriously hurt or killed. Within the hour 2 people from SES were onsite to assess the situation & organise the task of making the area safe for everyone. Together with Austgrid the area was made safe & SES returned on Sunday morning to finish the job.

These people are all volunteers, on call 24/7 & do not get enough recognition or thanks for the outstanding work they do.

On behalf of Bateau Bay Men's Shed & the Men's Shed movement we want to thank you all for keeping us safe whenever an emergency arises. 

 Your efforts are virtually priceless to the Community

Enjoying a well earned cuppa  prepared by President's wife Krystina

We need to look after these guys