Article for the CWA of Victoria Magazine – 21 August 2019
By State Vice President Viviane Chemali
As a newly elected State Vice President it is with great pleasure that I present my first report to members as State Vice President for the Association. My role as State Vice President is varied and interesting and builds well on my previous experience in the Association.
The Craft and Quilt Fair
The Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair was the first responsibility I was given as State Vice President. The State President asked me to coordinate the roster for the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair, which took place this year from Thursday 25 July to Sunday 28 July at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. The Association applied for an exhibition space in the Guilds and Associations area and were requested to showcase and demonstrate the art and skills of knitting and crochet. Twenty members attended over the four days; demonstrating knitting and crochet, promoting the Association and generally talking to people.
I am pleased to report that the Fair went well. Many people stopped at our stand and learned a bit of knitting and crochet and asked questions about the Association. Many said they know of the Association and others were surprised to know that we have over 300 branches in metropolitan and regional areas. We distributed many Victorian Country Woman magazines and spoke about the breadth of our community involvement. This included our work at the Royal Melbourne Show, the activities carried out in branches and groups and the High Tea at Umina. We also shared what we do at branch level and of course we spoke about scones.
It is pleasing to note that we received 77 requests from people eager to join the Association. In the absence of Interim Membership Committee Chairperson Peg Higginbottom the State President requested I pass on their requests to the appropriate Group President. Requests were forwarded to the Mitchell Group (20), Fraser (10), Diamond Valley (6), Mornington Peninsula (2), Latrobe Central (2), Geelong (9), Ballarat District (7), West Gippsland (2), McDonald (9), Eastern Foothills (4), Central Highlands (3). A couple of people were uncontactable due to incorrect contact details – it is always a good idea to ask for two forms of contact in case there is a problem with one of them.
I would like to thank all members who attended the Craft and Quilt Fair over the five days and promoted the Association. Thank you also to all Group Presidents who took the time to contact prospective members and pass on their details to the appropriate branch in their group. I hope that many will join the CWA of Victoria.
I am also pleased to report that we received a nice thank you email from the Craft and Quilt Fair organisers.
Mentorship and support
Another area I am responsible for is providing mentorship to 10 Group Presidents; namely Henty, South Western, Polwarth, Beaufort, Ballarat District, Central Highlands, Hume Goulburn, Central Victoria, Fraser and McDonald. I hope to hear more about these groups and the work they do and I would be very pleased to mentor these groups if they wish to establish new branches as I have experience in this field.
The responsibilities of the State Vice President are varied and interesting. They build on my previous experience in the Association.
Experience and roles
Cathie Irvin from the Boroondara branch interviewed me recently about my past experience and my current role.
What roles have you held before?
I have been Boroondara Branch President 2013-2014, Fraser Group President 2015-2017 and Social Issues Committee Chairperson 2017-2019.
What was the best part of your role as Social Issues Committee Chairperson?
I enjoyed the opportunity to chair the Social Issues Committee and organise events; inviting guest speakers to talk about Social Issues themes of ‘homelessness and affordable housing’ and ‘elder abuse’ which is now attracting more attention in the general community as well. I liked researching and preparing resolutions to present to the CWA of Victoria State Conference. I also enjoyed presenting regular reports to State Council.
What did you do as Fraser Group President?
I organised a number of social and fundraising events that improved the financial position of the Group significantly. I participated in various radio interviews, and organised a training day with the State President for members of my Group to understand the role of branch office bearers.
The most significant aspect of my role was when I established 4 new branches for the CWA of Victoria while Group President and one branch before being Group President; as follows:
- Boroondara (2013);
- Kew (2015);
- Ashburton (2016),
- Richmond (2016);
- Port Phillip (2017).
The Kew branch attracted significant interest with over 50 people expressing interest and over 20 forming the branch. The Ashburton branch took the longest and was established after trying three times. The Richmond branch was formed when 12 people attended the first meeting. It is interesting to note that because I held the first meeting at night time, one of the prospective members asked me if I was working late that night. She assumed that I was working for the Association; not a volunteer. The Port Phillip branch was established after six people came to the first meeting. The Boroondara branch was established after 20 people attended the meeting and 12 agreed to form the new branch.
What do you like about your current role as State Vice-President?
I like the variety of responsibilities the role involves and the fact that I am challenged in new areas. I like to provide support to the State President and represent her at various events. I also enjoy the contribution to the work of the Board and State Council. I also like to assist new members of State Council and provide them with mentorship as well as overseeing events that promote the Association and attract new members in various parts of Victoria.
