The Italian Social Club will hold it’s AGM on September 6 at the club’s hall at 7.30pm.
I wish to inform the public that I, Rebecca Orlando, the current secretary, will be resigning from the committee at that meeting.
As a volunteer, I am no longer prepared to face the criticism which has come about from our proposed change to becoming a multicultural club. This proposed change was well supported by the community in general and would have been a great thing for Swan Hill, but I will no longer be behind the change.
Where has this criticism come from you ask? From the most unlikely of places. I won’t name names, but there are people within the Italian community who were prepared to make it very difficult for this change to proceed and those who were prepared to sit back and complain and then point the finger at myself and others on the committee and blame us for losing the club to others (a very racist undertone).
To myself and others on the committee, they would say ‘oh well, we have to do it to save the club’ but to the nay sayers in the Italian community they would say ‘they are ruining our club’. Well… you can have your club!
It isn’t just me who will be leaving, at least five others will follow right behind me. We have all worked tirelessly to keep the club running… but for what?
And what of the market? Well, I certainly don’t want to see it stop, but I doubt anyone from the ISC will take it on, so it would need a new venue and a new organising body. This is something that I would be prepared to assist with, for the sake of the stall holders and community who have supported it. I hope to see this happen.
To everyone, who has supported myself and the other committee members, and supported the proposed change to a multicultural club, thank you.
My deepest and sincerest apologies for letting you down. This is my biggest regret. But, I have a job, a young family and a farm business. It’s time I put all my effort into these.
