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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-10-17 Daily Xml
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Clubs SA Awards

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (15:35): It is my pleasure to rise and graduate the winners and nominees for this year's Clubs SA, Clubs and Community Awards. Minister Michaels and I had the privilege of attending this fantastic event last Saturday at the Adelaide Oval, along with 400 people closely associated with this brilliant community-driven industry.

For those unfamiliar, our 1,272 licenced clubs represent the lifeblood and spirit of our communities. While they mean so much more to people than just sheer numbers, in economics alone, with 716,000 members, they employ nearly 20,000 South Australians, with the value of their contributions estimated at $116 million and generating $624 million in total revenue for our state. When you factor in all these numbers across our entire 1.8 million people, we collectively sustain and proudly support the highest number of clubs per capita in Australia.

Numbers can only tell part of the story, but they serve a great purpose to reinforce why we have good reason to not just celebrate their success but also thank the people who give so much to make them great. I know this is a long list, but while it is still fresh it gives me great joy to ensure the following winners have their names rightfully cemented in Hansard.

And so I give my congratulations to: Aldinga Bay Surf Club, Small Club of the Year; Golden Grove Football Club, Medium Club of the Year; Goodwood Saints, Sporting Club of the Year; Stefan Symeonakis, Club Cook/Apprentice of the Year from the Renmark Club; Sarah Jones, Club Chef of the Year from the South Australia Jockey Club; Grassroots Sport Award, Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club; Outstanding Community Service, Murray Bridge Club; Inclusiveness, North Haven Surf Life Saving Club; Environmental Awareness, Glenelg Golf Club; Best Function/Event Venue, South Australian Jockey Club, Morphettville; Best Club Refurbishment, Murray Bridge Club; Employee of the Year, Michelle Jones from the West Augusta Football Club; and Volunteer of the Year, Dennis Johnson from the Port Football and Community Sporting Club.

I have not shared all the winners, as I want to exercise a certain element of northern bias. While outside my electorate I am a proud member of the Salisbury North Football Club, and this really was their night of nights. As I have said online, it is handy they have recently completed their $1.9 million refurbishment because they are going to need the wall space. That is because they really cleaned up, winning the prestigious Large Club of the Year Award, along with Best Bar Environment, Best Gaming and Best Dining in the cafe/bistro section, along with Daniel Parry being recognised as Manager of the Year.

The irony of the night was that it coincided with the club hosting their 70th anniversary celebrations at the Convention Centre. It speaks volumes, with the club sending their staff to represent them for the evening, but I can imagine that following a hop, skip and a jump across the footbridge there was an enlarged contingent painting the town green and gold in celebration of their many successes dating back to 1954. That said, I am sure everyone was exemplary in their behaviour because we all know the great lengths Clubs SA go to in displaying leadership and the responsible serving of alcohol.

Again, outside my patch, Cameron Taylor, as both the President of Clubs SA and the general manager of the Para Hills Community Club, has been nothing but supportive, and I am sure nobody will mind me congratulating his crew on winning the Best Entertainment Venue. It must be said how Michael Brown, the member for Florey, and the Hon. Zoe Bettison, the member for Ramsay, are so proud of these local clubs, which they proudly represent.

I also want to take a brief moment to recognise and celebrate the success of those who did not receive an award but were nominated by their respective communities. I had the honour of awarding the Volunteer of the Year Award and there were 15 nominees. In fact, across the whole program there were 107 nominations from 41 clubs. While I am sure management do not make the nomination process overly difficult, putting an application together is a strong reflection on just how much clubs and their people are cherished by their local communities.

Finally, the event could not have happened without the great success of the judges and staff from Clubs SA. They all put on a fantastic show while reinforcing the stellar work they do collectively in providing invaluable infrastructure and services for their respective communities. To everyone involved across the state, take a bow for as a community we know you are part of the tapestry that makes life in South Australia fantastic.

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