Gympie VIEW Club

Members had the opportunity to relax and get to know one another better with a recent visit to the Imbil Op Shop, some retail therapy at the old Picture theatre shop and a wonderful lunch at the Wild Vine Café and Restaurant. 

Accompanying photo shows Charmaine, Sharan and Jenny at the Wild Vine Cafe and Restaurant at Imbil, in the beautiful Mary Valley.

Our Member Jean has certainly played her part in the furtherance of education for many a child over the past 28 years. At our Birthday meeting last month, Jean was honoured for her tireless work during the years she has been a part of our Club, being a recipient of a Making a Difference award, which was presented by Zone Councillor QB02, Christine.

As well as serving on Committee in a number of different positions, Jean has always been willing to volunteer as Hostess for the day or help on the Trading Table; has always been welcoming to new Members and has attended as many meetings, social and promotional functions as possible, thereby contributing greatly to the Club’s financial ability to support The Smith Family in its endeavours to further the educational outcomes many children of disadvantage.

Good food, good company, and great entertainment, including where one member jokingly resigned from acting after a hiccup in the pop-up skits, all contributed to a 29th birthday-to-remember. Visitors from other local clubs, as well as out-of-town Members, including National Councillor QB01 and QB02 Jean, were all in attendance.

Around 20 Members gathered at Elwyn’s home, with its delightful view over the valley, for a Morning tea and Clothes, Jewellery, Handbags and Shoes Bring and Buy Day.

Many a I really don’t need anymore clothes etc, BUT…… was heard, and our Members had a marvellous time trying on new clothes and oohing and aahing over the shoes, bags and jewellery, with everyone going home with a smile on their faces.

The delicious food that was on offer could have had something to do with that as well, and I can assure you that none of us would have needed lunch that day. It was a day for celebrating as well, as another new Member signed up.

Members never let the opportunity go by to promote our Club, organising a wonderful stand at the local expo.

Accompanying photo shows Lyn and Esme, at the Gympie Community Expo, where a lot of interest was shown in our organization

Members are now back into the swing of things, with around 16 of our group braving the rain to have lunch at Kingston House in January.   We were all pleased to see Annie and Marcia join us for the first time in many months.

Photo shows Christine, Carol and Marcia.

Our Christmas breakup saw local musician, Troy Dwyer, entertain Members with his easy-to-listen-to guitar playing and singing, whilst at the same time stretching our memories to recall the words to that all-time favourite, Twelve days of Christmas. It had us all shaking our heads at not being able to remember it all. 

One of the highlights at our Christmas luncheon was the presentation, of a Certificate of Appreciation by President, Esme, to long-standing member, Jean, who has been a member of VIEW since 1996 and has taken a very active part in the Club for all those years.

Members enjoyed a fun meeting to finish the 2023 year, with a delicious lunch, served up by the hard-working ladies at the Southside Bowls Club, along with competitions, raffles and other entertainment, and the attendance of past members who made a special effort to be there for the day, all made for a very memorable occasion. 

Photo shows Pat, Joy, Kaylene and Esme enjoying the day.

September saw quite a few Members attend the Legacy Morning Tea, and a group of our Members took a trip to Cooloola Berries for lunch, where some feasted on strawberries whilst picking their own for purchase.

Our monthly luncheon was held at the South Side Bowls Club, where our guest speaker was the delightful and informative Wendy Flikweert, from the Gympie Family History Society. Members were decked out brightly to conform with our theme for the meeting: Spring.

 New member, Jodie, was chosen as the winner of the Best Spring outfit. Our Getting to Know You segment featured Joy, a Member since 1997, who told us that when she enquired, many years ago, as to what Margaret, a friend of hers, was doing these days, her husband told Joy that she was in a club, and he thought it was a camera club. This elicited a chuckle or two. 

 A number of Members, plus some prospective Members and supporters, attended the Quota Club Spring MT for the Heart Foundation and a fun time was had by all. 

Photo shows Charmaine decorating the Heart of Gold Tree