Members of Moe’s beloved Apex Club have issued a heartfelt plea for new members to meet growing demands for assistance with jobs around the town.
With only four members on the books, the club’s president Brian Taffs, 56, said the club had been forced to turn down requests for help due to a lack of troops on the ground.
While he says the club’s future is not in doubt, Moe’s Apexians have appealed to the broader community for new members – targeting retirees, blue and white collar workers and people looking to learn a skill or two – to come forward and lend a helping hand.
“If we had some more members we would be able to take on a lot more projects around the town – it’s hamstringing us,” Mr Taffs, who joined Apex in 1998, said.
“The club financially is very strong. We’re not in dire straits of folding because of financial reasons – we just don’t have the people.
“It’s not all about work either. It’s a good way to socialise and meet other people and network in your community.”
More recently a standing order was removed by Apex Australia which had restricted people aged 45 and above from being a member of the club.
Mr Taffs said there was some confusion in the community as to who was eligible to join the service organisation but reiterated people from all walks of life are welcome.
He struggled to pinpoint why numbers had been dwindling in service clubs, not limited to Apex, but said being a member offered a sense of fulfilment and an opportunity to support the local community.
“People don’t need specific skills to join. In fact that’s one of the things you will learn in Apex – you will gain skills that you can use in other parts of your life and gain employment,” Mr Taffs said.
“Our biggest project we do every year is the community carnival and fireworks display in November. It is a joint project with the Lions Club but Apex originally started it back in the late 1950s and it’s been running continuously since 1982.
“New members would enable us to just get around to some of the other projects or some of the other jobs we’re being asked to do.”
Apex Club of Moe secretary Christopher McVerry, 43, joined the club almost four years ago and said volunteering was an essential role in any community.
“We moved up from the Mornington Peninsula and we didn’t really know anyone so it was a way to help the community and make some new friends and connections in the area,” Mr McVerry said.
“One of the things I’ve been helping Apex with is their annual reports on the computer and helping them with general applications based around technology so it’s not just hands on work, we need people behind scenes.”
People with driver’s licences and vehicles are also being sought.
The club regularly assists with barbecues during events at Old Gippstown and meets at the Moe RSL on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 7pm.
For more information, phone 0438 276 369 or email moe@apex.org.au.
