Member of U3A Network Queensland

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ABN 88 945 460 759

Contact address:

Beaudesert U3A Inc
P.O. Box 561
Beaudesert, Qld, 4285

Email: u3abeaudesert@gmail.com

Street map of Beaudesert

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Office Bearers:

President
Andy Fechner

Vice President
Lise Leatherbarrow

Secretary
Yvonne Berry

Treasurer
Helen Atkinson

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Committee members:

Course Co-ordinator
Tina Jones

Membership Secretary
Michele Goucher

Assistant Membership Secretary and Assistant Treasurer
Stuart Gearey

Publicity Officer
Cheryl Folley

Newsletter
Yvonne Berry

Webmaster
George Evans

Assistant Webmaster
Peter Venz

Social Activities Facilitator
Di Johnson

Facebook Co-ordinator
Debbie Pratt

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Beaudesert U3A Facebook Page

Committee Contact Details

Friends of the Committee

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Join Beaudesert U3A

Our Sponsors

Our Newsletters

Courses Time Table

Contents Page

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Dates - Activities

B.U.G.s Latest News.
Use Gardening Group Button at top of this page.

Term 3 starts 12th July 2021 and finishes 17th September 2021.

Queensland School Term Dates for 2021 can be found on the Contents Page.

Next Committee Meeting
Friday 31st July 2021. 09.30am Venue 12/61-85 Brisbane St (RSL Sub Branch Upstairs).

Important Notices

U3A Network
The official (New) U3A Network website is up and running with a link to Network News, the home page of the website and also Facebook:

click here to go to U3A State Web Network News

click here to go to U3A State Web Site

Click here to go to U3A State Website Facebook Page

Click here to go to Brisbane U3A Web Site

Next Social Lunch Outing Cancelled due to Covid

RSVP to Di ASAP Email - candyroxy1946@gmail.com Phone/text - 0468 849 448

New Groups and Recessions
A number of new groups have started, due to seasonal changes, some have gone into recess and some restarted. For more information, please go to current Courses button at the top of this page.

Click here for Mount Tamborine April Newsletter and Courses

Beaudesert Tennis Club Some of our members belong to the local Beaudesert Tennis Club. By reciprocal arrangement and for the benefit of members, we have agreed to a link between our Web Sites click here to go to Beaudesert Tennis Club Web Site

WHAT IS A U3A
The University of the Third Age is a mutual aid self-help movement - a modern community of scholars and artists, catering primarily for people in the Third Age of their lives.

OUR AIMS
The overall aim of Beaudesert U3A Inc. is to provide the members with both the stimulus of mental and physical activity and the satisfaction of a continuing contribution to society. It will enable them to take up new interests and to extend old ones. It will offer the joy of learning for the sake of learning: it will open up new horizons for them - unrestricted by the requirements of vocation or the desire for qualifications, and it will do so, principally by drawing upon the extensive life experience, skills and energies of the members. It is a mutual aid self-help movement - a modern community of scholars, catering primarily for people in the Third Age of their lives.

Beaudesert U3A promotes the joy of learning for the sake of learning, and seeks to open up new horizons for its members unrestricted by the requirements of vocation or the desire for qualifications. It does so, principally by drawing upon the extensive life experience, skills and energies of members.

HISTORY OF U3A
The history of U3A and how they operate is on this page.

Retirement living - With most of our members being children of the 40s, 50s and 60s, it's little wonder that a common topic of conversation is downsizing: where to go, whether to do so. So we had a full house (Covid size) for a presentation by a lawyer from the Caxton Legal Centre recently, when she described various forms of retirement living, with an emphasis on retirement villages and manufactured home parks.
Loretta Stellino brought along an amazing amount of printed material to hand out during her talk, stressing the need for homework and legal/financial advice before making any final decisions. All the material is also available online or direct from the Caxton Legal Centre in South Brisbane (phone 3214 6333 or http://www.caxton.org.au)

Advice is free, and only a phone call away, for anyone who is contemplating the pros and cons of a different housing option.

Photo below, left to right - Cheryl Folly U3A Publicity Officer, Loretta Stellino Lawyer Caxton Legal Centre and Andy Fechner Beaudesert U3A President.

   
Cheryl Folley
Publicity Officer

Recently we organised and subsidised a first aid course for eight of our volunteer tutors, conducted by Mick Kajewski, who runs first aid and CPR courses as well as operating the Beaudesert pool in summer. The eight participants studied theory beforehand and sat a theory test via email before turning to the practical work on the following Saturday.

The course was arranged at the request of John Leatherbarrow, who runs the summer aqua-aerobics course and also the current U3A Exercise in the Park group in Jubilee Park weekly, when he realised that the group in the park did not have ready access to a first aid helper if the need arose.

Liz Avery attended the course and reported that Mick was "an excellent communicator" whose course she could certainly recommend.

"It reinforced the need for everyone to have a basic knowledge of CPR in particular and the use of our defibrillator, which is kept with the tennis/table tennis groups and available to any U3A groups," she said. "It is also good to have a first aid kit in your car and Mick is happy to help with stocking yours.

Another useful tool is the Emergency Plus App which would be critical for first responders to find you quickly in an emergency."

   
Cheryl Folley
Publicity Officer

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Beaudesert U3A Monthly Luncheon

Beaudesert Friday Monthly luncheon was held at the The Beaudesert golf Club on the 11th June and was attended by 32 members, some were partners and friends.
Covid 19 protocols were adhered to and everyone was greeted and shown to their table. Service was very good with a short wait of about 15 minutes before main meals were mostly served at the same time. Food quantity and quality was excellent and good value for money. Coffee and tea was available following the meal. Comments from attendees were "highly recommended".

   
Photos Tina Jones
Tutor Co-ordinator

Beaudesert U3A has added three new committee members to help with the range of voluntary duties needed as the organization expands. With the resignation of one member, that brings the total committee number to 12.
“Everyone has a specific job as well as contributing to all decisions,” said newly re-elected president Andy Fechner at the U3A annual general meeting recently.
“Stuart Gearey is our new assistant treasurer and Peter Venz takes on a role contributing to the group’s website. In addition, Debbie Pratt becomes the new Facebook editor, replacing Carol Castles who is retiring to give full attention to her duties as the president of the Beaudesert RSL sub-branch.

“This past Year of COVID may have been the year that changed the way we live,” he said, “but it was also the year that saw a continued growth in local numbers in U3A both during the lockdown and recently. We were able to perform better than most other branches of U3A in Queensland with a combination of email, online activities and regular newsletters featuring contributions by many members.

“I look forward to another year of growth with the enthusiastic and passionate support of both the committee and our tutors and facilitators of courses,” he said.

More than 50 members attended the agm at the RSL function room and stayed for afternoon tea, many taking the opportunity to speak to the Scenic Rim Division 4 councillor Michael Enright, who conducted the election of office bearers. All nominations for committee positions were accepted unopposed.

   
Cheryl Folley
Publicity Officer

   
Photos Tina Jones
Tutor Co-ordinator