Mayoral Message - December 2023

Published on 01 December 2023

I started my November at the Yass Valley Men’s Shed for their monthly social morning tea. The Men’s shed meets on the first Wednesday of each month and allows members to put aside a morning exclusively for a cuppa and a yarn. It’s always a pleasure to join them.

On November 8th, I enjoyed talking to some lovely people looking for staff at the Yass TAFE for Skills and Jobs Fair. It was a great opportunity for recruiters and job hunters alike to see the wide array of stalls representing different organisations and employers. It was good to see a big roll up of students from the Yass high School during their lunch break. I finished my day with a sausage sizzle after admiring the great work done to the grounds at the Yass TAFE. A credit to all concerned.

I was honoured to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony at Thomas Eccles Gardens on 10 November. I joined RSL President Luke Hagerty, Chaplain Steve Neuhaus and Bugler Edward Alley. The event was well attended by residents and was followed by a much-appreciated morning tea. A big thank you to the management and staff for organising this event.  

The following day, I attended the Remembrance Day Service in Yass. I was grateful to be able to lay a wreath on the memorial and was again impressed by musician Edward Alley’s pitch perfect contribution as the bugler. He is a much valued and appreciated contributor to Remembrance Day and Anzac Day ceremonies in the Yass Valley.

It was a real pleasure as Patron of the Yass Valley Men’s Shed to accompany President Peter Davidson to the IMB Community Foundation Awards Ceremony at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. The Yass Valley Men’s shed was one of 55 community based organisations, from a total of nearly 500 applicants, to be awarded a grant by the IMB banks Community Foundation. The grant of $10,000 will be used to assist the shed by building an additional workshop to address the space which at present, is overcrowded. It was a great opportunity to meet and talk with the IMB staff and many other award recipients who are doing good things around the region. Congratulations to everyone who received an award.

It was a great evening at the Yass Lawn Tennis Club as I joined Goulburn Electorate MP Wendy Tuckerman, catching up with members and guests as we celebrated the upgraded tennis court.

With the weather warming up I’ve been enjoying walks around our community and have been particularly impressed with how well Walker Park and Riverbank Park are both looking. I have also been eagerly anticipating the grand reopening of our Victoria Park Skatepark on 17 December. Great work is being done.

I joined the Councillors and some staff members on the 24th as we inspected the interior of the Crago Mill. This follows the recent vote that accepted a tender for the development of the Crago Mill Precinct.

I was pleased to attend the Gundaroo Community Christmas Festival on the 25th and was tasked with the privilege of judging the scarecrow competition. A big thank you to the members of the Gundaroo Community Association for the invite to this great festival. A particularly big thank you to Cate and Rachel for their warm welcome and guidance. There was a great array of scarecrows to judge from, but I was particularly impressed by the two “Russell Scarecrows” and “Lou Cerne”! A big congratulations to everyone who participated, it was a very hard decision to make. The festival was a great opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces and meet a lot of new ones. It’s hard to beat country hospitality.

It was with great pleasure that I was able to visit and surprise local icon Brian Kemp by presenting him with a “Good Citizen Award”. Brian has served the residents of Yass and District with skill, good humour and quality products for over 67 years, all of which Brian has spent in Comur Street, Yass. Brian has been serving to community for the last fifty years at B&G Plumbing.

Proving the adage that behind every good man there is a good woman, I was also pleased to learn that a few days prior, Brian and Lynda had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. A big congratulations to this wonderful couple.

Finally, as the year comes to a close, I would like to wish everyone a merry and safe Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing you all at our annual Yass Valley Christmas Parade and Night Markets on the 14th of December as we begin our countdown to the festive season.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Allan McGrath