Posted by Margaret Mason on Dec 08, 2021
This was the first meeting at “our home”  in Cilantro after a long period of several lockdowns.
The chair was Glenda Stahel.
There were several guests at the meeting. Graham Chad ( Geoff Gartley) Samantha Langridge (Jo Impey) Sharyn Lunn ( Helen Nodrum) Gaurev Guar (Ron Brownlees) Leonie Ryan (Tony Ryan) and Shannon Thompson and Linda Marsh from Bethlehem Calvary Care and the guest speaker James Newberry.
President Helen addressed the members and asked for a volunteer to represent the club at the presentation night at Bentleigh secondary College. Julie Reid volunteered, thank you Julie.
Helen also reminded members about the end of year get together at the home of Ron and Marilyn Brownlees on Saturday 11 December from 2pm.
Glenda then introduced the guest speaker James Newberry, who is the MP at Brighton.
James had worked in the Federal Parliament with John Howard (when he was PM) and also managed Parliament for the Liberal party in Victoria after that. He then left politics and did a stint in the financial industry. When the sitting member for Brighton  (Louise Asher) retired, James returned to politics and was elected to parliament as the member for Brighton. Although he is the sitting member for Brighton, James indicated that he would “stay away” from politics in his address. He shared with members some insight into his family background. He comes from a family of dentists, and in fact it was his grandfather who introduced flouride into drinking water in the state.
James said that his focus is to champion issues that matter and to deliver results. He gave the example of the restoration of Brighton Pier as a result of what advocacy can achieve. He believes in championing issues that matter and  indicated that his main issue is mental health in young people and in particular, young girls between the ages of 12 to 15 years. In response to questions, he said that many people do not want to enter politics because the scrutiny is high and personal privacy is low. Even family members may be targeted. James was thanked for a very impressive presentation.
The next item for the morning was the presentation of a cheque to Bethlehem Calvary Care for the purchase of equipment. Linda O’Brien, (Chair of Community)  gave members a history of the club’s involvement with Calvary Care. A cheque of $15,000 would enable Bethlehem Hospital to purchase much needed equipment for the comfort and care of their patients who suffer primarily from long term neurological disorders. Tony Ryan who was involved with Bethlehem Calvary Care over a long period of time on their Board, also spoke briefly about what Calvary Care does.