News - Club Central Menai
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News

CEO UPDATE
FRIDAY 1 OCTOBER

Dear valued members, 

Great news! By now many of you would have heard the Premier’s announcement that lockdowns are due to be lifted for double vaccinated NSW residents from Monday 11 October. 

This will see us welcoming you back into our clubs a little earlier than we all thought, which is fantastic. It’s hard to put into words how excited we are to see you all in person. 

We expect that a number of Public Health Orders from the NSW Government will be released ahead of the reopening date. We will be adhering to all health and licensing requirements and in anticipation of the health orders, I provide the following summary of the expected conditions of entry to our clubs. All patrons must:

  • Check in via the ServiceNSW QR code 
  • Provide evidence of double vaccination (print or digital copy) or valid medical exemption
  • Show current membership card or sign in via requirements of the Registered Clubs Act 
  • Wear a mask indoors at all times, unless eating or drinking, (this will apply to all patrons over the age of 12) 
  • Agree to be temperature tested & sanitise hands on arrival 
  • Remain seated while drinking 
  • Abide by all other Club rules at all times 
  • Have fun and enjoy yourselves!

The above conditions are based on the advice provided to date by the Government. Non-compliance with the conditions of entry will result in you being asked to leave the premises. 

In our reopening phase we will have plenty of staff to assist with the signing in process. However, as this is new to us all, I ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this transition period together. 

Members visiting Club Central Hurstville will notice some changes that have taken place since we closed on 26 June as further stages of our refurbishment and expansion have been completed during our lockdown. At Club Central Menai, our team is looking forward to welcoming you back with plenty of delicious meal options as well as $10 cocktails at the Bernard Harley Bar. We will be launching some fantastic promotions at both venues as well as bringing back BINGO. In other news we have launched our very own Club Central app and I encourage you to download it from the app store to access some exclusive content. 

As we prepare to reopen, I want to reassure you that every team member returning to work has been fully vaccinated. In addition to this, our strict COVIDsafe operational plans will be in place, including COVID Marshalls monitoring the venues at all times. Our thermal imaging cameras will take each person’s temperature on entry and we will have cleaners working around the clock to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness.  

In short, we are committed to the health and wellbeing of every person on our premises, so we will be working with you to ensure that we provide a safe and welcoming place to visit. 

Should we receive further information that impacts our reopening before 11 October, I will be back in touch to update you. I also encourage you to check our website and social media channels to stay up to date. 

We have started the countdown to reopening, so we look forward to seeing you all very soon!

Best Regards,


Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

CEO UPDATE
TUESDAY 31 AUGUST

Dear valued members,

We are living through some very unsettling times. The current situation in NSW is impacting us all in our personal and professional lives, as well as those we love. I sincerely hope you are all coping as best you can in the circumstances and that you are being kind to yourselves and looking out for each other.

Club Central, like most other hospitality venues, endured a 70-day lockdown in 2020. The current lockdown is nearing that milestone and will exceed it by more than 3 weeks by the end of September. It continues to be challenging for our whole team, particularly those living in LGAs of concern and under harsher restrictions.

We know many of our members will also be in the same position and our thoughts are with everyone doing their best to get through each day. Our duty managers continue to call members to check in and update their contact details. It is heartening to hear so many members frequently enquire after the welfare of our team. We appreciate the kindness and concern.

Due to the current lockdown and uncertainty around when we might be able to reopen, we have decided to extend the renewal period for memberships expiring in 2021 to the end of this calendar year. The expiry on Club Central reward points will also be extended to the end of this year as well. This means any membership currently due for renewal will be available to renew until 31 December 2021.

We were very pleased to offer our first Online Raffle for members last week. There was a great response, and we look forward to offering this each week with some excellent prizes up for grabs. You can purchase tickets through the Club Central Hurstville and Menai websites and the raffles are live streamed through our Facebook pages every Thursday at 4.30pm.

We are conscious of supporting our team during lockdown and I’m pleased to report that we are halfway through a 4-week Resilience Program with Paul Taylor from the MindBodyBrain Performance Institute. We have around 50 staff participating in activities and logging them through an app where our team interacts and encourages each other. It’s been a wonderful boost for team morale.

Recently some of our team participated in an online trivia quiz with the team from Moorebank Sports Club and had a lot of fun. We have also distributed gift cards to all team members currently stood down to assist with the cost of living and remind them that they continue to be in our thoughts.

We are buoyed by the high vaccination rates in both LGAs where our clubs are based. It’s a great sign that like us, you are all eager to be able to reopen and for us all to get back to our lives as we know them. There are some suggestions that industries like clubs and hospitality venues will have to ensure members and guests are vaccinated to enter the premises. I am trying to understand which way the Government is going, but the lead time to full vaccination may mean some people may miss out when we are able to re-open. I encourage you to do what you can to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

As we wait for more positive news, rest assured, we are ready and waiting to welcome you back.

Best Regards,


Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

MEDIA RELEASE
AUGUST 2021

Changing of the Financial Guard at Club Central

The Club Central Board has officially appointed Colleen Perry as Chief Financial Officer. Perry will succeed Tim Hilder, who earlier this year announced his intention to retire after 28 years of service.

Perry has been working within the finance team at Club Central for more than 13 years, progressing from Group Accountant to Group Finance Manager.

CPA qualified, with a Bachelor of Commerce with Merit from Wollongong University, Perry began her career in payroll at TNT Forklifts, also working for Cleanaway and Tech Pacific prior to joining Club Central.

“We are delighted to appoint Colleen as CFO. As a member of our Senior Leadership Team she is highly respected by her colleagues across the organisation. Colleen has a deep understanding of our business and will be such an asset as we continue to grow with the imminent completion of our three-year refurbishment and expansion of our Hurstville premises,” said Club Central CEO, Paul Richardson.

“It’s not often that you find yourself in a position to take over such a significant role from a long-term mentor and friend, and it is an honour to do so from Tim,” said Mrs Perry. “I would like to thank the Board and Paul for this opportunity, and I look forward to being part of the next phase of Illawarra Catholic Club’s history as we continue to grow and expand.”

Richardson also thanked Tim Hilder for his dedicated service to ICC over 28 years.

“Beginning his career as the Club’s first administration manager, Tim quickly took responsibility for accountancy and then IT systems. Since then he has provided guidance and advice to the CEO and Board which has seen our business flourish, even during difficult periods.

“We wish Tim the very best for his next chapter, which involves his Nissan 4WD, camper trailer and plenty of travel around our country, once we can move around of course,” said Mr Richardson.
Club Central President, Brian Cloney echoed the words of thanks to Tim and welcomed Colleen to the CFO role.

“During Tim’s tenure, the Board could rely on him to provide sound financial advice, as well as identifying opportunities for savings, growth and innovation that have undoubtedly contributed to the strong position we are in today.

“We are confident that Colleen will continue to help Paul successfully lead our business and support our diversification plans across property and investments as well as our expanding Club venues,” Mr Cloney said.


CEO UPDATE
TUESDAY 10 AUGUST 

Dear valued members,

It’s been just under two weeks since my last update. While little has changed in that our clubs unfortunately remain closed, we are still working hard to ensure we are ready to reopen once allowed.

Our team working from home has been staying in contact with our extended Club Central team, some of whom live in the LGAs which are under additional lock down conditions. Last week the Board approved a voucher for all stood down staff as a gesture to let them know we are thinking of them. It demonstrates the high regard for the Club Central team who we are missing very much.

The Government has made it clear that vaccines will be a major focus of returning to a normal life. Furthermore, there are strong indications that it will be key to certain services, industries and venues being able to return to operation. To that end we acknowledge the need to ensure we are ready to open at the first opportunity. I am pleased to advise that the entire Club Central Board leadership team is well progressed to being fully vaccinated and this should be complete by the end of September. I encourage all of you who can to protect yourselves, your family and friends by getting vaccinated.

We are also optimistic in that each day that passes is a day closer to reopening our venues. For now though, we are thinking of you all and hoping you and those closest to you are safe and well.

Best Regards,


Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

CEO UPDATE
THURSDAY 29 JULY
To our valued members,

I hope you are all keeping well, looking after yourselves and staying home. Following the NSW Government’s extension of the current lockdown period for Greater Sydney, Club Central Hurstville and Menai must remain closed until Saturday 28 August 2021.I know that I speak on behalf of our Board and the entire Club Central team when I say that we would much rather be preparing to reopen our doors than preparing for another month of lockdown. However, the health and safety of all members, our wonderful team and the wider community is our priority.

In recent weeks we had made some tentative plans for reopening, including postponing some of the events and shows in July and August. Unfortunately, the extension of the lockdown will impact those plans and as such the ABBAlanche show that had been rescheduled for 22 October must unfortunately be cancelled. We will be in contact with ticket holders to process a refund.

We are anticipating that our popular cocktail & resin making classes will be able to proceed with some additional safety and social distancing measures in place, and our team will be in touch with ticket holders in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions, please get in touch via email at enquiries@clubcentral.org.au, or by calling reception on the numbers below. As always, we will continue to monitor the NSW Government health orders and keep you updated if anything changes.

Before I finish, I would also like to extend a big thank you to the frontline and essential workers across the state. From doctors, nurses, health and social service workers to those operating the testing centres, pathology labs and vaccination clinics, first responders such as police, fire and ambulance officers, early education staff and teachers, right through to the other heroes working in retail, postal services, food suppliers, transport workers and many others – we appreciate what you are doing to support our community during such a difficult period. We look forward to a time when we can all be together once again.

Best Regards,
Paul Richardson

Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

CEO UPDATE
THURSDAY 15 JULY
To our valued members,

I hope this finds you as well as can be expected during these difficult times. It is with sadness that I write to you to formally acknowledge the NSW Government’s extension of the current lockdown restrictions to 30 July 2021, which of course means that our Clubs must remain closed. It is a situation that we have unfortunately been through before in 2020, however once again we are working hard to ensure we are ready to reopen when allowed. We know many of you have questions about membership benefits and entertainment at Club Central that is being impacted by our closure. I have pulled together some information that will hopefully answer those questions. If the information you are looking for is not covered, please contact our team via phone or email.

Membership renewals – memberships due for renewal can be renewed online or over the phone. Should you wish to renew in person once we reopen, we will be extending a grace period for any memberships that expired on 30 June 2021.

Rewards points – Silver & Gold members’ reward club points were due to expire at the end of the financial year. We will extend the validity of your reward points for one month from the date we are able to reopen.

Footy tipping – Footy tipping is continuing online. Footy tips must be submitted by 6pm on the commencement date of that round. Menai footy tips can be submitted here and Hurstville footy tips can be submitted here.

Birthday vouchers – We are pleased to let you know that birthday vouchers impacted by the official closure period will be extended for 2 weeks from the date of reopening so that this period does not impact your ability to celebrate your special day with us.

All regular events such as BINGO, Mahjong and Trivia will be paused during the lockdown period. Once we are advised of any restrictions on reopening, we will let you know when these activities will recommence.

Several of our shows have had to be postponed or cancelled if we haven’t been able to find an available date in the future. We will be in contact with all ticket holders individually to notify you of the outcome, however we can advise the following at present:

ABBAlanche on Saturday 24 July has been postponed until Friday 22 October 2021.

Rocking Down the Highway – The Eagles Show on Saturday 14 August has been postponed to Saturday 19 March 2022.

Menai Sounds on Friday 27 August has unfortunately been cancelled.

We are hopeful that our sold-out Resin and Cocktail making workshops in August will still be able to proceed.

Should you have further questions, please get in touch via email enquiries@clubcentral.org.au or by calling our reception on the numbers below.

We will continue to monitor the NSW Government health orders and remain hopeful that we can reopen in August. In the meantime, we thank you for your understanding. We are thinking of you all and look forward to the time when we can greet you in person. For now, look after yourselves and your loved ones and friends.

Best Regards,

Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

CEO UPDATE
TUESDAY 29 JUNE
To our valued members,
We hope that you are all staying well. Our team has been working hard over the past few days to clean and sanitise our Clubs, ready for when we can reopen and welcome you back through the doors. In the meantime, we have a few updates to answer some of your questions:
  • Membership renewals – memberships due for renewal can be renewed online or over the phone. Should you wish to renew in person once we reopen, we will be extending a grace period for any memberships due to expire on 30 June 2021.
  • Rewards points – Silver & Gold members’ reward club points were due to expire at the end of the financial year. We will extend the validity of your reward points until Saturday 31 July to enable you to have time to come in and use them.
  • Punters club – Punters Club will be paused during the lockdown period.
  • Footy tipping – Our footy tipping competition is just heating up! Footy tipping has been moved online to make it easier for you. Footy tips must be submitted by 6pm on the commencement date of that round. Click through to our website to enter your tips
  • Birthday vouchers – We are pleased to let you know that birthday vouchers will be extended for 2 weeks so that this closure period does not impact your ability to celebrate your special day with us.
  • All regular events such as BINGO and Trivia will be cancelled during the lockdown period. Once we are advised of any restrictions on reopening, we will let you know when these activities will recommence.
  • Shows & entertainment
    • Ice Skating – as this falls within our closure period, we unfortunately have to cancel this school holiday activity. Our team will be in contact with ticket holders in the coming days to process a full refund.
    • ABBAlanche – We are very optimistic that this sold out show will be able to proceed as expected.
    • Tickets are still available for all other shows such as The Eagles, Menai Sounds and Dragon online via our website or over the phone by calling reception on 9532 1800. Should you wish to use your Discover NSW voucher to purchase a ticket, you will be able to do so by emailing the voucher to reception@clubcentralmenai.com.au before calling to book tickets so that it can be entered and verified during the transaction.

Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email enquiries@clubcentral.org.au or by calling our reception on 9532 1800.

We will continue to monitor the health orders over the next two weeks. Should any changes to the health orders impact our expected reopening on 10 July, we will be back in touch to update you. In the meantime, stay safe and well.

Best Regards,
Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

CEO UPDATE
SATURDAY 26 JUNE
To our valued members,
It’s with sadness that I confirm that Club Central Hurstville and Menai will be closed to
members and guests from 6pm today (26 June) until Friday 9 July, as per the stay-at-home orders from the NSW Government. You will still notice team members inside our venues as we work through the necessary
procedures involved in the closure. We will be back in touch with you early next week to provide further information as it becomes available.If you are a ticket holder to an upcoming show or activity that falls within the closure period, our team will contact you during business hours next week. Should you have an upcoming function or meeting at one of our venues, our functions team or the event organiser will be in touch with you.We will stay in touch with members via social media and our website as well as email and SMS for those who have opted in for communication.On a personal note, please stay safe and take care of yourselves, your loved ones and friends. I wish you the best of health and look forward to welcoming you back into our Clubs.Best Regards,

Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group

CEO UPDATE
THURSDAY 24 JUNE

Dear Members,

It has been a while since I last had to write and update you on the latest disruptions caused by COVID-19. Over the past few days some regulations have been reintroduced by the NSW Government. I wanted to let you know what we are doing at Club Central to protect all of you and our team.

In line with requirements from the NSW Government, the following regulations are now in place at Club Central Hurstville and Menai:

  • As a reminder all club visitors must sign in via the Service NSW app
  • Face masks must be worn in all indoor areas within the club
  • Face masks can be removed whilst eating and drinking
  • Patrons must be seated whilst drinking in indoor areas
  • The one person per four square metre rule has been re-introduced venue-wide

These measures will stay in effect until next week. We have continued to maintain vigilance with ensuring that all visitors sign in via the Service NSW app and we are still taking temperatures of anyone entering our clubs via our thermal cameras, as well as asking all guests to sanitise on entry. Similarly, our cleaning and hygiene practices are being maintained to the highest standards.

Abiding by the current regulations, we believe it is safe to proceed with our regular activities such as BINGO and Mahjong, as well as shows and events. Our team will be on hand at all times to assist and ensure that the above requirements are being followed by guests at all times.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation as we adjust to these changes. We will always prioritise the health and safety of our members, guests and team, so let’s continue to work together to look after everyone and ensure your experience at our clubs is of the highest order.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to get in touch with us via email enquiries@clubcentral.org.au or by calling the clubs:

Club Central Hurstville – 9570 3355
Club Central Menai – 9532 1800.

Best Regards,
Paul Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Club Central Group