U3A Hume Bulletin February 2016

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1 C/o Gladstone Park Community Centre 13 South Circular Road, Gladstone Park 3043 Postal Address: PO Box 2057 Gladstone Park 3043 Website: ARN: A W U3A Hume Bulletin February 2016 Summer Program a Very Enjoyable Time The Summer Program was enjoyed by all those who attended. There were three water trips in fact. There was a visit to the Melbourne Aquarium, a boat trip along the Maribyrnong River, and another boat trip to Williamstown. Many thanks to Anne de Gabrielle for organising the events, and being such a good guide, shepherding her U3A charges to stay in a group, and to get to events on time. Sharing the Load Your Committee is working on promoting U3A Hume more actively. Our participation in Hume Council s Harmony day on Monday 21 March in the GPCC, and the use of Facebook to attract new members are just two examples. From July this year new members will be required to volunteer for one activity before their membership is accepted. That approach will most likely be extended to all members in the next twelve months. We all need to share the workload of running U3A Hume, including more committee members, and more members in the office. We are embarking on a stronger approach to gaining new members and more support from existing members to volunteer. We are all volunteers but we see the same members assisting at displays, promotions, sausage sizzles etc., which is not in the spirit of the U3A. We also desire other classes to participate in our various promotional activities to share the load. Various other classes can also demonstrate their crafts and skills to attract new members. This your U3A and we need more members to volunteer in various ways so as to reduce the workload for everyone. Contents Page Summer Program 1 Sharing the Load 1 Joan Tingley 2 Sausage Sizzle 2 Donation 2 Dine-out, February and March 2016 Bulletin Bi-monthly 4 Facebook 4 Incentives for New Members Office Volunteers 4 Membership System 4, The Committee of U3A Hume would like to thank Maria Vamvakinou MP and her staff for the printing of this bulletin. U3A Hume Bulletin February

2 Vale Joan Tingley Joan Tingley passed away on 23 December She was a long time member of U3A. It was disclosed at the funeral that she had Parkinson s. Over 40 members from U3A Hume attended her funeral. I have known Joan Tingley since We used to do line dancing at Lynda Blundell Centre. Every year the class would be told that the AGM was coming, asking people to attend and also letting them know that Committee Members were needed. In 2006 Joan surprised me when she offered to join the Committee. She said I will join the Committee but I don't want a job. It wasn't long before Pat Townsend the then President talked her into taking on the Office Roster. We supplied here with a very old computer and printer Joan had never used a computer before and taught her how to set up the roster using an existing Excel table on a floppy disc. We told her that she just had to ask if she needed help with it. Joan was a lovely quiet lady and was very much loved by everyone who knew her. Aina Crawford Sausage Sizzle Sunday 17 April The next Sausage Sizzle will be on Sunday, 17 April 2016 at Bunnings Broadmeadows. Please let Liz Munro know you are available. (Future sausage sizzles will be on Saturday, 10 September 2016 and Saturday, 26 November 2016.) Internet users can volunteer by enrolling online in our Membership Management System at humeu3a.org.au/ members. Preference will be given to those volunteers who have not participated before in a sausage sizzle. In fact, we re going to chase you to volunteer! Donation A donation of $ to U3A Hume general funds was made by the Chair-Aerobics Beginners class. Many thanks from your Committee and all members for your donation. U3A Hume Bulletin February

3 U3A Hume Welcomes Recent New Members Please welcome these new members to U3A Hume. Jenny Brodie John Brodie Dianne Campbell Pat Lynas Roy Mazzone Melissa Evans Maria Malacria We hope your experience as a member of our U3A will be rewarding and enjoyable. U3A Hume President and Committee Entertainment SINGIN IN THE RAIN Tickets for Wednesday 15 June 2016 at a cost of $70 per seat are now available. Payment is due on 2 April. Sound of Music Wednesday 13 July 2016 at the Regent Theatre. Stall tickets are still available at a cost of $ Payment is to be made by 4 May. Matilda the Musical Matilda the Musical by Perth-born comedian Tim Minchin is coming to the Princes Theatre. The musical is inspired by Roald Dahl s writing. Twenty tickets for 7 September 2016 are now available. The price is $69.00, payable by 15 June. To book, or to pay for tickets, please call our Social Secretary Anne de Gabrielle on or , or socialsec@humeu3a.org.au. Or enrol online in the Membership System. Class News Class News. Cook and Dine: 16 members enjoyed a Chinese Banquet on Friday 12 while the others went to watch the Tattoo. Tai Chi class is expanding - two New members! Huff and Puff has one new member. U3A Hume will be celebrating Harmony Day "Our Diversity is our Strength" on Monday 21 March in GPCC, by inviting the community to participate in our classes on that day. Light refreshments available. Choi Foong Course co-ordinator Dining Out in February and March 2016 The Dine-Out for Friday, 26 February at 6.30 pm will be at K & K Seafood, 162 Camp Road, Broadmeadows. Dine-Out for Thursday March 24 at 6.30 pm is at Lazat, 328A Keilor Road, Niddrie. Note that Good Friday falls on March 25. For queries and bookings, please call our Social Secretary Anne de Gabrielle on or , or socialsec@humeu3a.org.au. U3A Hume Bulletin February

4 Bulletin Published Bi-monthly The Bulletin will be published each second month from now on. Our postage rates have increased in line with Australia Post raising the cost of postage to $1. In addition, the delivery times for print post mail will be longer and more variable. Hence it is less likely that the Bulletin will be delivered to you in a timely manner before the end of the month. We need help from someone willing to assist with producing the Bulletin each time. Please contact the secretary at secretary@humeu3a.org.au. Facebook The Committee recently held a short planning session to look at what U3A Hume can do to increase its presence. One recommendation is to use Facebook to increase our awareness. An active Facebook presence helps to interest people in what we do. It is like a fast word of mouth way of contacting many people. So are there any members who use Facebook who would like to manage a new-look face book page? Please contact the Secretary at secretary@humeu3a.org.au. Incentives for New Members New members joining now can take advantage of a special discount in fees. For those joining this term (February to April) the full membership will be reduced to $30. For those joining next term (late April to June) will get up to 15 months membership for the price of 12 months. Please let prospective members know about this incentive, and help increase our membership numbers. Better yet, bring your friend along to a class to introduce them to new activities and new friends. Help Us out in the Office The Office is short of volunteers. Please volunteer for manning the office between am and weekdays. If we had enough volunteers, then volunteers would attend two or three times a year, not two or three times a month. You can be the friendly, welcoming face of U3A Hume. You can help new members join up. And you can also answer the phone and handle members queries. We will support you with hand-holding, training and personal assistance until you are confident of manning the office. Membership Management System The new Membership Management System is now implemented. Your Committee urges all of you to log into the System, to update your details, and to confirm you are enrolled on the correct courses. All Activities Managed by the Membership Management System From February 2016 all our activities will be managed by this new System. If there are outings e.g. summer program, theatre, then these activities will be in the Membership Management System. When we have fundraising events like the Sausage Sizzle, you can volunteer for this also on the Membership Management System. If you don t have a computer, then please ask the office staff to enrol you. Theatre shows, excursions, and the annual trip will all be managed by the Membership Management System. Hence any of you can enrol in any of our activities. Continued next page... U3A Hume Bulletin February

5 Membership Management System (Cont d) Logging into the System You can now log onto the System using your membership number, printed on your membership card. Go to our website, humeu3a.org.au, and select the menu item Membership. You can read the instructions and proceed from there. All logon passwords have been set to random characters to protect your information. So the first time you try to log in, you will have to retrieve the randomly generated password by , which can later be changed to a password you prefer. Retrieving your Password You can retrieve your password on the Membership System by clicking on the link I have forgotten my password on the Membership System login. An will be sent to you with the current password. Use this provided password, follow the instructions and then create your own password after you log in. I Received an The Membership Management System has a number of automated responses. These responses are not controlled or sent by the Webmaster or any of the Committee. And there is no need to reply to any these automated s. When you enrol in a new course, or change your details e.g. your mailing address, the System will send you a confirming . When you enrol in a course, the System sends you an , and also sends an to the tutors to let them know that someone new is now enrolled in their course. The idea behind these notifications is that you are now in control of your own U3A Hume activities. Letting people know that you have changed your enrolments is managed by the System. In this way, the course co-ordinator is relieved of many of the activities she now has to perform. No Longer Attending a Course There may be a course or two you are no longer attending. Or you recently enrolled on a course, but now find you have double booked yourself. In those cases, you will have to let the course co-ordinator know you want to be taken off the course. I Don t Use Computers For those of us who do not have a computer, your Committee still urges you to verify your details and courses in the System. To do this, you could sit with a buddy who can help you, or you can pop into the office and ask the office staff to help review and correct your details. You will have to get your password reset by an office person before getting a buddy to help you. U3A Hume Bulletin February

6 24 February 2016, Fiddler on the Roof. 15 June 2016, SINGIN IN THE RAIN 13 July 2016, Sound of Music. 7 September 2016, Matilda the Musical Upcoming Events Reliable Home Maintenance Real Value Home Maintenance Service (No Job Too Small) Contact John on or by at realvalue@live.com.au Fold Here Fold Here C/o Gladstone Park Community Centre South Circular Road Gladstone Park 3043 Postal Address: PO Box 2057 Gladstone Park Victoria 3043 U3A Hume February Bulletin PRINT POST POSTAGE PAID AUSTRALIA U3A Hume Bulletin February