Service Club Week

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:27): Today, I would like to talk about Service Club Week 2018, and this year it was celebrated between 8 and 14 October, which fell in the school holidays and which, unfortunately, did not get a lot of airplay.

However, I think it is important not only to mention the week itself to celebrate the work undertaken by service clubs in our community but also to use the occasion to help recruit new members to service clubs because I do believe that they play an invaluable role in both the wellbeing of communities, through the various projects they undertake, and in the various friendships formed through being a member of a service club. In my own community, a number of events were held, and I am very fortunate and privileged to be able to chair a forum of the service clubs in my electorate of Light at which a number of service clubs attend and participate, and I will come back to that in a second.

In terms of the events that were held to mark the occasion, again they were held not only to celebrate the work they do but also to do something together. The service clubs said that it was important to do something together, which I agree with, as well as to showcase the work they perform. I would like to mention two activities; one was held by the local Lions Club of Gawler, which I should declare I am a member of. The Lions Club of Gawler actually has a weekly market at the Gawler Railway Station.

On Saturday 7 October, they opened up their market to all other service clubs free of charge to host stalls to promote the individual works they undertake. A number of clubs took that opportunity. The Country Women's Association took the opportunity to talk about the things they did. The Gawler Light Rotary club was there and they talked about their Wheels in Motion program, which is helping young people who, for whatever reason, cannot get up their hours to get their licence.

The Gawler Rotary club, another rotary club in Gawler, did the pinkie for polio program. I still have nail polish on my little pinkie from over a month ago because my household is a household of just men and we do not have any nail polish remover in the house, so here I am with nail polish still on my pinkie. It is certainly a discussion starter when you are with people.

The way the service clubs worked together to promote their activities was great and it also removed some misunderstandings about what service clubs do. People often have a benign view of service clubs, but I think they are positive organisations that do some really great work. I would like to thank the Lions Club of Gawler for undertaking the day.

I would also like to talk about another event, a combined quiz night that took place on Saturday 27 October in Gawler. Ten service clubs within my electorate got together and held a combined quiz night not only to have some fun and raise some funds but also to showcase the work they do together. The quiz night was a huge success, with the various organisations working together and raising over $1,800. I would also like to say that the Gawler Apex Club was the inaugural winner of the local combined service clubs quiz night trophy—a trophy that I was proud to be able to sponsor.

Over 140 members and friends of local service clubs participated in the first ever combined quiz night to raise funds in the local community, and service clubs undertake a number of projects for the benefit of the community. The Apex Club tied with the Gawler Bottlebrush Ladies CWA group for the honours on the night, so we had to have a tiebreaker. With the golden question, Gawler Apex took out the inaugural trophy.

The clubs involved were the Apex Club of Gawler, Bottlebrush Ladies, the Country Women's Association, the Kiwanis Club of Gawler, the Kiwanis Club of Roseworthy-Hewett, the Lions Club of Angle Vale, the Lions Club of Gawler, the Lions Club of Elizabeth Playford, the Rotary Club of Gawler Light, the Rotary Club of Gawler, the View Club of Gawler and the Zonta Club of Gawler. Clubs working together deliver great outcomes for our community.