President's Report 2024

Well, another ten months have passed since the last AGM and although not many events have been run, I must say there has been plenty going on behind the scenes.
Once again, the weather has not been on our side and we have only managed one rallysprint, two khanacross events and one Junior Driver Development Program event for the year. This has not been for the lack of trying with most events being cancelled a week out due to the constant rain we are currently experiencing. Hopefully 2025 will be kinder to us.
Lawrie and Karen put together a proposal to run a Junior Driver Development Program and very kindly donated a car for the program. It looks fantastic emblazoned in club logo and signage. The program was very well received with over eighty “expressions of interest” when released on our Face Book page. This led to a decision to run the program as a stand-alone event to accommodate as many as possible. We ended up with seven juniors confirmed for the first running. This was a totally new concept for us, and although learning on the go, a very successful weekend was had by all involved. Thanks to Anthony’s efforts, both local tv news ran a segment promoting it in their sport coverage which was seen throughout regional Australia.  Unfortunately, the next two scheduled events had to be cancelled due to rain. I believe if this program is to continue in 2025, the program will need its own organising group to ensure the program can fulfill its full potential for the competitors. (Weather dependant of course). I would like to acknowledge and thank Lawrie and Karen for their dedication in delivering this program for the youth in our area. Also, thank you to all the instructors and officials who gave up their time to help make this a success.
On the funding search, we have had continuing dialog with the sitting state member at the time and were called into a meeting with him where he advised us, he had been to visit the Drive-It complex in Townsville, and he understood the importance a facility like    this would be for our region. He advised us the state government was about to fund the Fraser Coast Regional Council $24 million under the Works for Queensland Funding Scheme and had requested council CEO allocate funding for our organisation and Maryborough Basketball club (which did get funding) He advised us to get our proposal to council for consideration. The first available meeting with council was six weeks away and in this time our executive worked nonstop to have our presentation ready. The final product produced was a very professional document with video introduction which we presented to a full council meeting on Monday 8th July. Council commended us on the highly professional presentation which they believed had great merit but were told the closing date for submissions was the previous Friday and it was unfortunate our proposal was not available for them to vote on.  When we advised them that the deadline had been extended by one week, we were then told our project was not eligible under the guidelines. We disputed this, as the state member had clarified with the minister’s office that our project was with-in the guidelines. The CEO continued to dispute this. He then advised us the money was for “council only” projects and had not been open to clubs or charities for submissions, and as we weren’t a Council Project, they could not change the funding decisions that had been voted on. Interestingly, Football Queensland were funded $1.5 million for an all-weather carpark with no submission lodged. When asked how that was possible, we were advised the local councillor had lobbied for the funding on their behalf. We were also advised, there was no more funding available until 2027.
With the direct and indirect financial benefits to the economy for our region exceeding $6m per annum, due to there being no direct financial return for council, the only support offered were words of encouragement to keep looking for funding elsewhere. It is obvious to me, there are certain members within council that have no interest in our development proceeding despite being on the “Council Priority Project” list previously.  The new CEO believed we were going to conduct “Commercial Activities” which were outside the conditions of our lease. During the ensuing two-year fiasco in which council ignored numerous solicitors’ letters asking for clarification of their decision, we disappeared from that list. It is hard to comprehend that the executive of our council sees no benefit our development will provide despite being aligned with one of their Mission Statement objectives of, “supporting a sustainable economy”. If they believed in the benefits we could offer, some form of financial support would surely follow.
With the State election due for October, we approached the opposition candidates John Barounis and David Lee seeking support if elected. I had a meeting with John, and he was very open to helping our proposed Burn-out facility if elected but could not promise funding.  David knew of our development from when he was in council and offered verbal support. I also met with Federal Member Llew O’Brien who has supported our association since its inception but said there was little hope of federal funding with them being in opposition. I will be following up with our new state members in the new year.
As you can see, we have not been idle over the last ten months and the number of hours devoted to producing the proposal alone was well into the hundred hours. I thank our secretary Karen Howlett for her dedication to producing such an outstanding document.
The never-ending maintenance of the facility is hard to keep on top of due to the rain and with limited funds available for the necessary fuels etc, it is becoming very hard. Without the constant work by Tony and Karen Krebs, there simply would not be a facility of the standard we enjoy. The countless days and personal costs incurred by them is enormous with them traveling to the site at least once a week for mowing or maintenance.  Leading up to proposed events this can be up to three days a week and their contribution and dedication to our club is priceless. The sponsorship for the last round of the cancelled Total Auto Service Khanacross, has very kindly been donated to help cover some of the costs involved with the maintenance. I thank Stephen Christensen for his generosity and on-going support of our club. If you have friends in Caloundra, I highly recommend Total Auto Service for any car related repairs. The club desperately needs machinery to be able to maintain the road/fire break network and this is something we need to prioritise this coming year.
The road repairs have finally been finished and the funding reports acquitted. This has been a massive effort, and thanks must go to Steve Neilsen for his patience and persistence with the constant weather interruptions.  There is still a bit we would like to do, and we will attend to these things as funds become available.
On the grants front, we have been successful in gaining funding through the Active Clubs and the Active Women and Girls funding programs, and this has enabled us to start another avenue of improvements and equipment.
All these things have been made possible due to the efforts of our committee. I have already thanked some in my report but need to list everyone that has been part of our journey this year.
Lawrie Howlett (vice president)
Karen Howlett (secretary and treasurer)
Anthony Smith (media and committee member)
Karen Krebs (membership officer)
Daniel Lidster (grants officer)
Tony Krebs (site maintenance and committee member)
Tony Apps (QRDA liaison and committee member)
Mel Webb (Burnout liaison and committee member)
David Sterritt (committee member)
Thank you to all the members and friends who show up and carry out official duties throughout the year and our dedicated competitors who have stood by us through this difficult year.
 Thank you to our club sponsors, your support is truly appreciated. Please support those that support us.
Climate Control Systems
 Total Auto Service Caloundra
 Evolution Electrical
 KazArt Graphics and Design
Steve’s Slashing and Excavation
Fraser Coast Sand and Gravel
Queensland Government Sport and Recreation
Thank you and I look forward to working with you all next year if re-elected.
Ross Perry,
President 2024.