The iconic Pub with No Beer was the venue for members and their guests of the Taylors Arm RSL Sub Branch to celebrate the 70th birthday of the sub branch on Saturday night (24th).
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The committee of the Taylors Arm RSL Sub Branch hosted a crowd of 35 to join the celebrations with them.
Dinner guests included WWII Veteran Peter Bray, who at 94 years old is the oldest sub branch member.
Sub branch president, Stuart Johnson, addressed the gathering and reminisced about how the sub branch had been there for ex-service personal and their families and had conducted commemorations such as ANZAC Day over the last 70 years.
He added that the sub branch had been able to withstand some tough times such as the collapse of the banana industry in the area and some difficult times in the dairy industry.
In Mr Johnson's address he highlighted the wonderful support they had received from the 106 Air Cadet Unit from Coffs Harbour in regard to commemorative occasions and went on to say how proud they were of one of those cadets, Sarah Welsh, who has had a long history with helping the sub branch and is now studying at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.
Taylors Arm is one of those wonderful 'roll up your sleeves and get it done' parts of this beautiful country, so perhaps the success of their RSL sub branch should come as no surprise.
- Mick Birtles DSC
Mr Johnson spoke of the future of the sub branch and pointed out that there are veterans from recent conflicts who end up in the district and are sometimes in need of advice and a little guidance. He said that the sub branch would play a role in proving younger veterans with a link to support services when required.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of RSL sub branch memberships to 11 new service and affiliate members. This is a massive expansion of membership, and I asked Mr Johnson how they managed to attract so many new members.
As some RSL sub branches across the state struggle to maintain enough members to remain viable it was very heartening to see the Taylors Arm RSL Sub Branch growing and go from strength to strength.
Then again Taylors Arm is one of those wonderful 'roll up your sleeves and get it done' parts of this beautiful country, so perhaps the success of their RSL sub branch should come as no surprise.
Mr Johnson said that many locals had asked to join the Taylors Arms RSL Sub Branch as they have a strong desire to be an active part of the community and want to help veterans and their families as well as help out on occasions such as ANZAC Day.
The sub branch maintains a high profile in the Taylors Arm area thanks to great support from the Pub with No Beer who enable members to run raffles at the pub on Friday nights. The inclusive nature of commemorative events such as ANZAC Day that are conducted by the sub branch are also highly regarded by the local community.
Anne Stuart, the recently elected secretary, advised me that the sub branch is on the look out for new members and added that anyone interested can come along to meet members on the second Wednesday of each month with meetings held in the Pub with No Beer at 6:30pm in the warmer months and 6pm in the winter.