Our e-Newsletter

Welcome to our Club’s Newsletter.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the first monthly newsletter of 2025. Another great year coming up that promises much by way of bowls, camaraderie and just having fun. There’s a bit to tell you in this edition. By way of having some fun, you can win public admiration, possibly even acclamation, gain huge personal kudos, plus have your name included in the February blurb (optional) if you can correctly count the number of times I have used the word ‘our’ in this missive. Whole words only in your counting please. Send me an email please with your answer if you want to enter the quiz.

As if nobody has noticed, summer really is here – please take full sun care of yourself in this weather.

A note about our monthly newsletter. Our practice has been to keep those who depart our Club on our e-mailing list because it may still be a source of interest to you, and who knows, you might re-join. If you don’t want to continue receiving them, please use the unsubscribe feature at the bottom of the newsletter and that’s the end of it.

I know it’s a little Monty Pythonesque because you are already receiving this, but if you know someone has unsubscribed to the newsletter and they want to re-subscribe, go to this site: https://mailchi.mp/c2df782d5fe5/new-member-registration

The new Club bowls program, which shows other Club events as well, is up and running – well done to the BMC and Di Heiner for her herculean effort in pulling it all together. The program is up on our web site.

The Board will be conducting a Member’s Information Meeting on Monday, 17 February, commencing at 1000. Please put it in your diary. As with the previous event, this will follow on after Skills and Drills, which will need to finish by 0945. This meeting will give members feedback on what you told us in October, bring you up to date with our as yet unaudited results of 2024, share our thinking on future matters. and get your input to once again inform our considerations about our Club. If you want to prepare, do some research on how to conduct a SWOT.

The Club AGM will be held on Monday 17 March this year, starting at 1000. Separate notices will be provided with more details but please put another entry in your diary. If you are contemplating nominating for a position, please see me if you have any questions. In that regard, the Club Operating Manual has been updated this month to help those wanting to find out how we do stuff. It’s a great read for insomniacs and it’s on our web site.

Doesn’t the new furniture look good. A really big THANK YOU to all those volunteers who helped remove the old and bring in the new. It was all obtained from the Kwana Club with the primary expense being removal and storage as we juggled dates with Kawana, whose own timetable was ‘flexible’. Volunteers are now going to resurface the solid timber sturdy tables and investigate if we replace or improve some of the seating. An extra bonus is that we now have about 35 additional posterior propping places in the upper dining area for you to occupy.

The Board intends to move the designated outside smoking area (DOSA) located adjacent to the dining area. It will probably move to the western fence area when we have done more homework. We know it is/was popular with some patrons and that the changes have not been universally well received. But we also know that, try as we might, smoke cannot be prevented from entering the Clubhouse or drifting further down the area to where non-smokers are seated or playing. I’m sure everybody appreciates that the Club has a legal obligation to prevent passive smoking. Added to this, the popular large swivel chairs have become torn and dilapidated; so, for the time being, we have decided to replace those well-loved furnishings to match others in the outside area. The big table is in the shed pending a decision on where to put it next and I’ll update you as matters progress.

And isn’t the new catering just terrific. The name “Pelican Palace Chinese Restaurant” was adopted by Erik after a roundtable meeting with our team of ladies who helped coin the term. The first night was booked solid and received many plaudits. Phew! Many thanks to those who laboured hard and long to make it all come about. The commentariat remarks by members is that the meals are very good. The Club’s web site has been updated, and you can find menu details here: https://pelicanbowls.com/bistro/

You also might not appreciate that we have extended our opening hours and now do lunches and dinners 6 days a week, including Sunday. Please tell your friends that there’s a new dining opportunity in our local area, at the right price, the right ambience, with drinks at a low price they wouldn’t believe, and parking space you don’t have to fight for. Take a handful of flyers home and do a letterbox drop if you would like to help publicise our new dining arrangements please.

Our indefatigable Margaret Hardy has replaced the equally indefatigable Lloyd Hawkins as the Club’s Gaming Nominee, and Lloyd will become a casual Pokie Pirate. Many thanks go to Lloyd who has worked hard and conscientiously to ensure the Club gets the most from its investment, and Marg is already making her presence known. Rod Evans, Kev Skimin and Georgina Nielsen are retiring from their Pokie Pirates role, and on your behalf, I extend our great thanks for their many years of service to our Club.

We had a visit recently by our local member, Kendall Morton MP, who advised that the government still intends to provide funding for the support of local clubs. Our bid for lights is inside that program and I will keep you posted as matters progress. Kendall was also delighted to become our Honorary Member, taking the place of Jason Hunt whose support we valued.

Our very own Steve Minton has been selected to compete in the 2025 State and Open National disability title tournaments that take place from April to August this year and will be representing our Club. Steve has to cover all expenses for qualifying and competing, which could be from WA to NZ, so it’s an expensive thing to do. If anybody would like to help Steve raise funds needed, you can assist him via a Go Fund Me page: https://gofund.me/aae426db

Our container collection continues to make a very helpful contribution to the Club. In December last we raised $903, whereas December 2023 was a bumper month of $1,543. To adapt Frank Sinatra’s song, 2024 was a very good year for all empty cans and bottles – because we raised $7,458, being the second highest since 2019 and just behind 2023. Please bring in your empties and donate them to a great cause.

At our Board meeting on 23 January, which carried over to 27 January because of the nature of the business, we decided that:Prizes for twilight bowls will be 30% of green fees, after GST is taken out.
Prizes for full games, will be 29% of green fees, after GST is taken out.
The By Laws will be amended to remove the detail of the game of bowls (but not the responsibilities of the BMC), and a “Pelican Waters Bowls Club Manual for the Conduct of the Game of Bowls” will be developed to help the BMC react in a timely manner to changes to the game and avoid the two or more months it takes to change the By Laws.
I saved the slightly bad news to the penultimate paragraph. Excise increases come around twice a year whether we like it or not. The Board has evaluated the increases being charged by our suppliers over what we previously paid. With expected further increases to wages and superannuation this year also a factor, we have decided it is better not to absorb these costs and instead pass them on now. In general terms it is $0.30 for a schooner of heavy and $0.20 for a schooner of mid, becoming $7.10 and $ 6.70 respectively, with different variations being applied to different products: stubbies, wine and spirits etc. Our bar staff can tell you the new prices – but please remember it’s not the bar staff who made this decision.

In closing, can I once again thank all our sponsors who help us make this the friendliest and, in every respect, the best bowling club on the Sunshine Coast.

See you at our Bowlo…

David Shackleton
Board Chairperson

Ahead Physiotherapy 58 Landsborough Parade, Golden Beach 07 5437 8899
Bad Hair Day 9 Bulcock Street, Caloundra. 0492 867 509
Bank of Queensland 20 Bulcock Street, Caloundra. 07 5390 2222
BCIB Insurance Brokers (Domina) 1300 657 058
Best Practice Eye Care 64 Landsborough Parade Golden Beach 07 54922822
BIOScapes Group 1300 4 246 246
Caloundra RSL Sub Branch 19 West Tce, Caloundra.
Caloundra Seafood Market 144 Bulcock St, Caloundra. 07 5437 0733
Compass Financial Solutions 6 Otranto Ave, Caloundra. 07 5492 0350
Hear4Good 5/56 Landsborough Pd. Golden Beach. 07 5477 0144
Henzells Agency Cnr Pelican Waters Blvd & The Corso, Pelican Waters. 07 5492 4888
Ian Simms – Henzells 07 5491 2000 or 0418 481 469
JPG Design 1 Glen Kyle Drive, Buderim QLD 4556. 07 5456 4499
Kendall Morton – State Member for Caloundra (LNP)-1A 20 Ormuz Avenue CALOUNDRA QLD 4551. 07 53294100
McGrath Estate Agents 2/83 Bowman Road, Fourth Avenue, Caloundra 07 5438 8548
North Coast Foods 4 Page Street, Kunda Park. 07 5445 8877
Oak Tree Retirement Villages Shop 3, 18 Anning Street, Golden Beach. 0408 997 339
Pelican Waters Estates Cnr Pelican Waters Blvd & The Corso, Pelican Waters. 07 5492 4888
Physio4function 103 Palmer Ave, Golden Beach QLD 4551 0480 575 290
Pinnell’s Gourmet Meats Shop 12B, 1 Ormuz Ave, Caloundra 4551. 07 5491 3552
Platinum Removals 2a Production Avenue, Warana QLD 4575. 0438 277 014
Professionals On The Coast Realty 36 Esplanade Headland, Kings Beach. 4551. 07 5492 5644
Rockpool Pelican Waters 17 Spitfire Banks Drive, Pelican Waters. 1800 515 053
Star Discount Chemist 44 Landsborough Parade, Golden Beach. 07 5492 1659
St Marys Age Care 31 Verdon St Pelican Waters. 07 5492 4044
Star Discount Chemist 44 Landsborough Parade, Golden Beach. 07 5492 1659
Sunny Coast Transfers 0431 475 656
Supaview Security and Sunscreen 8 Packer Road, Baringa. 07 5493 2600
The Bowls Doctor 89 Nicklin Way, Warana. 0427 158 512
“The Cockies”
Wardle Partners Accountants and Advisors 8 Otranto Ave, Caloundra 07 5492 0300
4551 Property Group David Radcliffe 0407 780 500
Tropical Coast Web Design 0488 406 050

	49 Nelson St. Golden Beach, QLD 4551
	(07) 5492 1032
	(07) 5492 1066
	secretary@pelicanbowls.com

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