Gerard commenced proceedings with a changed scenario in the seating arrangements. To allow all members to hear, we utilised the end closer to the screen, BUT there was a unanimous call to “do something about” the sound system. Done and awaiting a quote in consultation with Bluey.

In the context of our guest speaker Mark Flint from Australia Post, Gerard briefly spoke about change and the subsequent implications or unintended consequences that may or may not occur. As always Gerard challenged some of our thinking.

 

Scott Eldridge dropped in before the meeting commenced, to present us with a thank you letter and certificate of appreciation. Scott has successfully completed his ride from Sydney to Geelong and raised $14,732.85. Well done Scott.

I had the pleasure of presenting Audrey Ratcliffe from Kyabram a “Certificate of Appreciation” for her 12 years of continual support for the knitting project. Audrey was one of the first ladies’ to bring in bags of knitted goods and has been an ardent supporter ever since. At 84yrs old, Audrey has decided to hang up the needles.

Thanks to Bruce for his initial organisation and set up and to George, Ray, Paul and John Cannon for their help on the day. Although there is a saying that a “good tradesman doesn’t blame his tools”, the chefs were challenged by the BBQ provided. This resulted in a couple of flare ups, where Ray thought we may have to call on Captain Koala. Not to be defeated we soldiered on and fed both Bendigo Victory and the Maryborough crew. For the next outing we will be using our BBQ from the trailer and tables as required. It will be easier and more efficient for all concerned.

 

Cathie proposed that the 4F night be transferred to support the Bendigo Volunteer Resources film night at the Star cinema on May 23^rd. there were possibly 12 who will support the film night. Cathie will purchase the tickets at $20 pp

Geoff reported that there will be a board meeting at St. Aiden’s on Tuesday May 21. Please abide by local parking rules.

John Cannon received support for the concept of providing a lunch at Lightning Reef Primary School once a month. The suggestion is that we partner with Inner Wheel and provides sandwiches/BBQ on alternate months, possibly the last Friday in every month.

George indicated that we will be presenting a Board paper to support a “winter clothing donation” to Lightning Reef Primary School.

Glenn will be attending a “Swap Meet” meeting on Monday night at Gateway Kangaroo Flat 7.30pm.  All are welcome to attend. Thanks Glenn for your support for this great event

 

Our guest for the morning was Mark Flint from Australia Post in Bendigo.

Mark started his career with Australia Post in 1992 when he purchased the agency in Coffs Harbour. He ran this for 4 years and he then moved to Shepparton to the Delivery Centre. This was followed by the purchase of a retail agency in Kyabram, then to Kyneton as Manager and finally to Bendigo in 2008 into the Business Hub.

As Mark described the business has changed markedly over the years. With letters dropping by 20% annually (anyone under 30yr old has not licked a stamp!) and online purchases surging the organisation has to been adaptive to change.

With a great series of slides, Mark progressed us through some of the changes, being;

1809, deliveries by horse and buggy

1850’s, the telegraph invented

1860’s, rail introduced

1920’s, aviation commenced

1930’s, the telegraph installed

1975, Australia Post renamed and re badged

1985, the fax machine invented

1999, Future Post barcode system introduced

2000’s digital, 2008, Smart Devices, 2010 Future Ready and 2019 Part of Tomorrow

With 33,031 employees in Australia Post and 5,500 in Star Track, they deliver over 93.1 million articles to 11.3 million delivery points each week. There are 2561 outlets for regional and remote Australia. Today Australia Post undertakes 4 separate activities, Receive, direct, return, collect with “when” now being a critical factor. Where shopping was once transactional it is now more experiential, with on line shoppers having high expectations related to shipping costs, tracking, delivery times and delivery locations. With a prediction that one in ten items will be purchased online, Australia Post has had to change dramatically many of its processes and systems to meet customer expectations. However over 80% of customers believe that Australia Post is still the most convenient parcel delivery service available.

As Mark said, we have to keep up with customer demands.

The usual question time was again overtime as members had many and varied questions of Mark. Thanks Mark foe a great presentation and informative Q&A.