On the Grapevine

That would be most people — considering we have all earned it.

Well, get down to the Beach Café at Thompson’s Beach on Sunday, November 5 from 11.30am until 4pm, where you can enjoy the ambience of the beachside venue with its magnificent outlook while sitting back and listening to great music.

Lazy Sundays will be held each Sunday commencing November 5 and will continue through to December 17, with top local artists performing each week.

Head down at 11.30am and enjoy everything the café offers, including snacks, pizzas, fish and chips, cakes, sandwiches, beer, wine and soft drinks.

Is there a better location anywhere for this kind of treat?

I think not.

Club Tocumwal moving in the right direction

Tocumwal Golf and Bowls Club is moving in the right direction after receiving a grant from the NSW Government through Multi-Sport Community Facility funding.

When announcing its successful funding application, Club Tocumwal received a congratulatory call from then NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole, commending the club on its impressive application.

He was later to pay a personal visit, thanking the club for its efforts in supporting the community.

The grant of $3,547,000 will be matched dollar for dollar by the club. Chief executive Paul Gemmill is hugely excited about the project, which will take the club into a new era. Work has already begun, with the resurfacing of two bowling greens with artificial grass — one of which has also been marked out for ‘pickleball’, a game that is spreading like wildfire in Melbourne.

The new game, suitable for all ages, is a fantastic addition to the club.

It is proposed to hold three or four pickleball competitions each week. It can be played under lights, and social games will also be organised and are due to begin in November.

“We are thrilled to receive this funding, which enables the club to create new revenue streams for its future,” Paul said.

“It’s about long-term survival, and today, Club Tocumwal is not just a golf and bowls club. It offers so much more for our 1500 golf and bowls and 5000 social members.”

The most notable inclusion on the golfing side, besides the rating of its two 18-hole courses in the top 40 in NSW and top 100 in Australia for public courses, will be the establishment of a junior golf academy.

“Golf is big and getting bigger everywhere. It is a growth sport right now,” Golf Australia regional manager Mark Bamford said.

Mark was at Tocumwal the day I visited and was impressed with the club’s proposed development.

The academy will be available to the PGA, Golf Australia and other clubs to use the facilities, and ‘free’ junior training programs will be offered to the region’s up-and-coming young golfers.

“We are also looking at establishing a major junior under-18 golf championship and currently working on the format and timing of the event with the PGA,” Paul said.

“While work has begun on the overall project, it will probably be 2025 before it is fully completed.”

The current face of the clubhouse will soon disappear, with a modern redesign of the interior, including a member and visitor lounge, an auditorium to seat 200 people, an elevator and usage of the underneath section of the building, which will house a new pro-shop and bowls section.

The academy, with training facilities and function areas, will be created in the old pro shop on its current site. It will be known as the Southern Riverina Junior Golf Academy.

On course, the green-keeping team works hard daily to ensure golfers can play on a top-quality layout.

Greenkeeper and course superintendent Ben Lucas and his team of eight are proud of the two courses they prepared. They are locals; they care about their roles at the club and are valued for their skill and dedication to their tasks.

“Our irrigation system helps us to maintain this high standard on the greens and fairways all year and contributes to the increased volume of players that we are seeing out on the course,” Paul said.

Club Tocumwal looks set to lead the way in the region with its go-ahead attitude and planning.

Footnote: The NSW Government’s Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund for 2022-23 has allocated $200 million to sporting clubs throughout the state and recognises the critical role local sports clubs play in the lives of families and communities.

Cobram’s Bendigo Bank joint winner of Branch of the Year

Cobram Community Enterprise congratulates Cobram’s Bendigo Bank, which has been announced as a joint winner of the ‘Branch of the Year’ for the 2022-23 financial year from 135 regional branches in Victoria and Tasmania.

Mount Beauty and District Community Bank was recognised equally for its contributions to the community through its charity arm, which assists Australian communities with grants, scholarships, community projects and community-focused appeals.

Cobram Community Enterprise Incorporated was an initiative of the Bendigo Bank.

In 2007, a small group of active, community-minded people banded together to determine where funds could be best used within the community.

Today’s group comprises chairman Peter Edgar, Elizabeth DeMaria, Rob Northey and Debbie Dopper.

Over the past 16 years, $800,000 has gone into the community for a variety of large and small projects, such as the Cobram Community Cinema, the Cobram Op Shop (managed by the indefatigable Debbie Johns), and more recently, fitting out the ‘Youth Stop’, a place for teenagers aged 12 to 18 to go after school and at weekends.

This is incredible, and one wonders where we would be without such amazing support from the Bendigo Bank, which provides available funds for the betterment of the community.

Customers must hold a bank account with Bendigo Bank and then flag Cobram Community Enterprise, which will assist the town and district.

It’s a feel-good set-up for everyone and a tribute to the bank staff for their efforts to ensure funds are available for many projects.

Why not open an account today? You will be helping your town.