Beaudesert U3A tutors, facilitators and committee were celebrated at the group’s annual ‘Thank You Lunch’.
See photos at end of story.
The volunteers were treated to a two-course lunch at The Club on 7 October in recognition of the hours they put into contributing to the success of Beaudesert U3A.
There were 24 Beaudesert U3A volunteers in attendance, as well as U3A Network Queensland secretary Alison Taylor, who is the state committee liaison for Beaudesert branch and came along to meet the volunteers.
At the lunch, 2022 Tutor of the Year Di Johnson was recognized for her facilitator roles in Social Activities and Bolivia and 500 card groups in Beaudesert and Jimboomba.
Di is also an active member of the Beaudesert U3A committee.
President Brendan Dever and Vice-President Tina Jones also presented a certificate of thanks to Helen Atkinson, who had officially resigned as Beaudesert U3A treasurer due to family and health issues.
Mr Dever said the lunch was one way to thank volunteers.
“It’s about recognising people’s time and contributions to U3A over the year,” he said.
“The whole U3A movement relies on volunteers so it’s an important annual event for us to recognise that contribution.
He said Beaudesert U3A, which currently has 307 members, was thriving due to the dedication of its volunteers.
“It got down to the low 250s at the start of this year, and one comment Alison (Taylor) made is that most U3As around the state are still struggling to regain members, so she was quite surprised that we’d had such a rebound this year,” he said.
“That could be partly put down to the easing of Covid restrictions, but I think some of it is also due to our activities – a lot of people are joining just to take part in a specific activity.”
