The long-awaited grand re-opening of Bangalow Bowling Club will take place this Friday 13 April from 4pm.
Funds raised from the community, totalling around $200,000, have enabled the club’s creditors to be paid and the club’s doors to re-open, club president Brian Mackney has announced.
‘But that is only the start,’ he says. ‘We are by no means out of the woods. We will continue to need working capital, and continued community support is essential to our long-term success.’
Change of focus
He says the festivities will carry throughout the weekend, ‘with lots of social, sporting and cultural activities taking place to showcase our vision for the new club’.
‘An important change will be a focus on families and culture.
‘Sunday will be a special day for families and will feature lots of music and cultural activities. There will be junior sports skills clinics and exhibition matches and other kids’ entertainment.’
He says the progress to date is very encouraging, with other clubs from adjoining towns, sporting, social and cultural groups that have ‘rolled their sleeves up and all pitched in to help us remodel the club and to prepare it for a weekend of festivities commencing on Friday 13 April’.
Mr Mackney added that an estimated additional $100,000 in in-kind contributions had ‘been from the local community in remodelling the interior of the club and assisting in the rebirthing process we are going through’.
Interior remodelled
‘Local tradespeople and suppliers and enthusiastic townspeople and supporters have turned up in large numbers to move furniture and remodel and repaint the interior to prepare the club for the re-opening.
‘In addition, there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes effort in raising funds and putting in place the mechanisms for managing those funds. There are the financial plans, the marketing plans, the business plan, our re-branding strategy and communications plans.
‘These are all elements vital to the future professional management of the club, all provided largely by contributions from local professionals and some as far away as Brisbane and Sydney.
‘We live here and know what this town is capable of, but the attention the Bowlo has been getting has reminded us of the strength of our community and what a special place we live in. This community spirit is reflected in our new vision for the club. As we reinvent the Bowlo as Our Sports and Community Club we will be aiming to connect the entire Bangalow community through sport, culture and social events,’ Mr Mackney said.
‘We want to encourage the community to think of the Bowlo as their own, providing a welcoming space for use by everyone. That has not always happened in the past, but we are determined it will be the way of the future. Our meals and choice of a caterer will be important. We are going through a caterer selection process that will seek to provide quality meals at affordable prices. We are very determined to make the Bowlo our club – the heart of sport, cultural and social events in Bangalow.’
For further information contact Brian Mackney on 6687 1289 or mobile 0413 679 201.
