Club funding helps drive learner program

Moama Bowling Club sales and marketing manager George Santos said the club was proud to be supporting the community and learner drivers who otherwise may not have someone to teach them.

‘‘This partnership has been amazing for the past decade, it has enabled us to fill a gap in the community where young people were not getting assistance where it was needed sorely,’’ he said.

Local learner driver Reece Lamb has been on driving lessons with instructor Maurice Gardiner since January. He started with 10 hours and has 94 to date.

‘‘He’s been teaching me a lot about the surrounding area which has been good while we’ve been driving around,’’ Reece said.

‘‘He’s taught me about little things, like putting the handbrake on before putting the car in park helps to ease strain on the transmission.

‘‘I feel a lot more confident compared to when I started, it’s been amazing.’’

And the benefits of the mentorship is two-fold, with Maurice learning a thing or two from his students — while parked, of course.

‘‘It’s a two way situation, I teach him to drive and he teaches me how to use technology like my iPhone,’’ Maurice laughed.

‘‘Reece is going really well in his driving, he’s progressed well. It’s one of those things where you just learn as you go — I was fortunate enough that I started very young — and it definitely helps the more hours you can put in.

‘‘I started when I was about 10 years old on a little Fergie tractor — incredible when you think about it. Then you progress but even I’m still learning because the rules have changed.’’

Mr Santos said the program was highly valued by the Moama Bowling Club — as are all of the organisations the club supports in the twin towns and beyond.

‘‘It’s important to ensure the safety of our future drivers by investing in programs such as this but more importantly it’s about having someone such as Maurice who is going to mentor students — and they will learn so much more than just driving,’’ he said.

‘‘There is that link between people which was formed just from a driving lesson, and those two people may stay in contact for many years.

‘‘It’s a privilege to support this project and we have never hesitated to provide a financial commitment, as we have every year, and the outcome is such a positive thing for our community.’’