Club History
The Rotary Club of Albany Creek was chartered on 9 August 1983 following a short period as a provisional club. It was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Aspley, who not only provided guidance to the new club, but also lost some of its members who lived in the Albany Creek area to the new club.
The Club formed to service the developing suburb of Albany Creek and other suburbs on the south-eastern border of Pine Rivers, and also the north-western suburbs of Brisbane. In 1983 with no other suitable locations available, meetings in the inaugural years were held at the Everton Park Tavern.
During the years the Club has met in a number of different locations, including Hornets at Aspley, the Bowls Club, the Albany Creek Tavern and currently at the Gardener’s Café, at home in Albany Creek.
Membership
The Club started off with some twenty-two members. Membership for the first five years remained relatively static at twenty to twenty-five with the average age of members in the forties.
During the late 1980s, through the 1990s and into the early 2000s membership slowly increased to around thirty, the average age increasing to the fifties.
During the past three years another influx of members has brought the numbers to forty-one, the largest membership in the Club’s history. This is a result of further housing growth in the local area. With new young members joining in recent years the average membership age has been maintained. Also in 2004 the Club welcomed its first female member. Notably in its twenty-second year, the Club still has more than ten of its Charter members.
Service Activities
The Club has, since its inception, based most of its Community Service activity in the local Albany Creek community. These activities have included the establishment of Jacaranda Park, sponsoring academic, community and sporting awards at local primary and high schools, and supporting other community groups in the area such as Scouts; Guides; Lions; Apex; Albany Creek Business Association; churches; police; ambulance and fire services with manpower, management skills and, of course, financially.
Other notable service activities have included fodder drives to Chinchilla, supporting Life Education, and sponsoring a program for the reduction in bullying.
The Club in its early years often sponsored and hosted Youth Exchange students and on a couple of occasions, Ambassadorial Scholars. In recent years the Club has hosted and sponsored members of incoming and outgoing GSE teams.
The Club has supported District Service activities such as DIK through the collection and delivery of donations and through loading containers.
Fellowship
The Club has always maintained a solid social calendar. Activities across the years have included Christmas in July, fishing trips, Australia Day barbecues, dances, family days, hiking, and trips to local and not so local locations.
Through regular member speaker spots the Club has also ensured that members are aware of the life and times of fellow members.
Vocational
The Club regularly presents Vocational Service Awards to members of the local business community. These are recognized in the area as a notable achievement by those who receive them. The Club also undertakes regular vocational visits, and in recent times has visited the police, Patrick’s wharves, a funeral parlour, breweries and a caravan manufacturing business to name a few.
Guest speakers from a wide range of vocations come to meetings and in this way new members in different vocations have been recruited.
Youth
While the Club has supported the local community youth groups, individual members regularly take work experience students into their businesses. The Club has regularly sent students to activities such as RYLA, RYPEN, Siemens Science Experience and the National Youth Science Forum.
Polio
Rotary’s goal to eradicate polio has, from the beginning, been supported by the Club, which contributed towards the final push in 2002-03 with $75 per member in that year.
Support of District Activities
Since its inception the Club has been represented at the annual District Conference and has had a number of members also attend International Conventions held both in Australia and abroad.
In 1996-97 Club member Boyd Fay was District 9600 Governor. Members have also held a number of roles on District Committees, both as members and chairs of District Awareness Advisory Team(DAAT), Group Study Exchange(GSE), Youth Exchange, Rotary Overseas Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC), Preserve Planet Earth, Membership, Publicity, Trophies and Awards, District Training and Foundation Committees. A number of members have also served as Assistant Governors, Cluster Coordinators and legal advisers
Awards
The Club has recognized in excess of twenty-five members and members of the public as Paul Harris Fellows.
The Club won a number of district attendance awards in its earlier years, and in 2002-03 was recognized as the Outstanding Club of District 9600 and also had the best display at the District Conference.