Guest Speaker: Trevor Gorey & Peter Panek (Claremont Men’s Shed)
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Trevor spoke first;
President John, thank you for asking me to present the Shed to the Club.
This meeting is the first formal function held at the Shed and you are most welcome because the Rotary Club of Dalkeith has been a major contributor in both monetary terms and support terms.
The Steering Committee comprising representatives from each of the six Rotary Clubs supporting the Shed including Peter Panek and Mike Bisset was blessed by the generosity of this Club which contributed $30,000. Our example also encouraged the Rotary Clubs of Nedlands and West Perth.
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You may recall that the original committee that investigated the establishment of a shed was from Dalkeith, Nedlands and Crawley. I was able to encourage Matilda Bay, Western Endeavour and West Perth Clubs to join the support group and I think the combination of the six clubs helped enormously on obtaining support from the State and Federal politicians and the support of the Town of Claremont (despite the Mayor's attitude to the Showgrounds)
A great vote of thanks must also go to our Patron Michael Chaney who personally contributed $50,000 and gave us the impetus to approach the Rotary Clubs for the major contributions. Between Rotary and Michael, we raised $150,000. This was added to by a $100,000 grant from the Gaming Community Trust.
The $250,000 has been very well spent and with some leftover we have achieved the transformation of a once abandoned pavilion that was destined for demolition to what you see before you tonight.
The transformation was achieved largely with the funds available by the incredible project management skills of Peter Panek. I remind you that the initial QS estimate of the refurbishment was $475,000. Peter has achieved the outcome you see for about $200,000 all up.
Our architect is Paul Rumble. When I went to the Matilda Bay Club to encourage their involvement in the Shed, Paul approached and offered his services. He has done a great job in his design and innovation. For example, he suggested cladding this room in corrugated iron. It is, after all, a Men’s SHED.
We still have about $100,000 in purchasing equipment and installation of a dust extraction system (hopefully to be funded by Lotterywest) so the total outlay will be about $300,000. A saving of some $175,000 due to Peter.
We were also supported by some very generous donations of equipment and services. The organisations that provided that support were Mosman Park Men’s Shed, our lawyers K&L Gates which provided $20,000 of legal services on a pro bono basis, Metropolitan Appliance Services and Kleenheat Gas.
I must also recognise the work put in by a cohort of Peter’s cycling and paddling mates who toiled away at cleaning the shed, painting it and generally preparing it for the trades work that was needed.
Above all others, I must record the support and cooperation of the RAS. In particular the CEO Peter Cooper, President Paul Carter, and not the least our former Rotary Member Don Chipper who got our foot in the door.
The Shed membership is about 120 and growing steadily and I expect it will expand rapidly when the Shed is fully operational. The Shed will be open for members in about two weeks but we still need Lotterywest to come good before we can purchase the major items of equipment.
The job of the Steering Committee has been done and the governance of the Shed has been passed to a member-based Management Committee.
Another matter of good fortune is that Mike Wiggin who is my guest tonight has been elected President of the Management Committee. Mike is a former Chair of the WA Men’s Shed Association and a current member of the Board. He is also one of the most talented craftsmen I have ever met. And a good bloke as well.
This Club remains well represented on the Management Committee with Peter Panek as Vice President and Mike Bisset as Secretary. I have been elected for a one-year term and will see through the funding applications and promotion of the Shed.
Thanks to the members who volunteered to help tonight,
Finally, I hope you enjoy tonight’s meeting and this venue and look forward to your ongoing participation and interest in the Shed. I would like to see all of you become members of the shed. There are a number as you can see from the dual badges being worn tonight but it would be great if we were all involved.
Peter Panek then said a few words;
It took 6 years to get a Men’s Shed up and running. Once we decided on the Showgrounds being the place it was about 2 years ago. It's only been 1 year since we signed a lease agreement with the RAS.
Peter has basically spent the last 3 months down here getting the Shed done. He knew he had been spending too much time down here when he started referring it as HIS Shed! Trevor has been great at getting the money for the Shed and PP great at the Project Management.
Their only disagreement was getting gas for the kitchen appliances - there is NO gas on-site! Anyway, Trevor got gas and Peter got a fancy coffee machine and Huge TV screen.
Michael Wiggins also said a few words;
Michael noted that Trevor reckons he is a fine woodworker, but he hasn’t won two first prizes in Show competitions as Trevor has. He then thanked all involved and said it was an incredible Men’s Shed.
It is a real value to the community!
Pres John Bolto thanked Trevor and Peter for their untiring work.
