Cobram club has it all

Moving to Cobram some years later, Mr Simon was an inactive volunteer with the CFA but he was looking for more.

“I had to reinvent myself, so I spent six months basically looking around at different activities and clubs,” he said.

“Someone I got to know up here introduced me to Lions in June of 2018, so I clicked with people, attended a couple of the meetings and joined Lions (that year).”

Mr Simon now serves as president of the Lions Club of Cobram; a role he assumed just weeks ago.

And while his passion for the club’s many programs and its charity to the local community is evident, his biggest problem is a lack of hands.

Mr Simon said members found that Lions was all about a rewarding sense of volunteerism.

“People feel they want to give back to the community, that they’ve got a good life and they want to give back, but in a lot of cases they don’t know how to do this,” he said.

“If you can get involved in one way or another ... If you do some work and not just go there for the social aspect, it’s extremely rewarding.”

Acting secretary Lyn Matthews joined just a year after Mr Simon, also as a new local.

While COVID got in the way in 2020, she, too, found the work she did at the club to be gratifying once she could attend regular meetings again.

“When life did get back to normal, I went back to the meetings, just to meet some people,” Ms Matthews said.

“I made some beautiful friends out of it, and just to volunteer and give back to the town was great.

“It’s quite rewarding, and it is fun, you get to talk to lots of different people, and you meet lots of tourists that are in town.”

Janet Austin has been a Lion for 30 years.

Now at the Cobram club, she is currently in the second year of her role as membership chairman.

Ms Austin knows more than anyone that membership is struggling.

“It’s hard to get members. Looking for members is the hard bit,” she said.

“I think every club is struggling to get members, though, most clubs are in the same boat in every town.”

Dealing with new members as they are onboarded, she said the flexibility of the Lions Club, the opportunity to gain new skills when volunteering, and the support from other members were among the top reasons to join.

“Lions offers training for different roles, and there’s a lot of support. You’re not just thrown in,” Ms Austin said.

“You bring your own skills and you can pick the items in the program that you’re interested in, and that your skillset can match. If not, there is professional training and growth available.

“You gain confidence along the way, and as you go, you might get the opportunity to have a go at other things that you wouldn’t normally have a look at.”

The Lions Club of Cobram meets at the Grand Central Hotel on every second Tuesday of the month at 6.30pm, and at Killara House on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the same time.

For more information, contact Ms Austin on 0459 340 109.