TOBA PRESIDENT'S REPORT

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

I’m writing this President’s Report on the Monday night of the WA Day long weekend, four days before our big fundraising event of the year, the TOBA Sportsmen’s Lunch.

We have been wonderfully supported by our community and 58 items have been collected that will either be won in a raffle or sold throughout the day in both silent and live auctions. The committee has done a fantastic job collecting signed merchandise and goods from near and far, hoping to make a profit of about $30,000, which will go towards funding TOBA Bursary Scholarships, which we are proud to be able to offer to sons and grandsons of Old Boys – boys who might not be financially able to attend Trinity. This is the 11th TOBA Sportsmen’s Lunch and since inception we have now raised over $300,000 for the association. The whole Trinity community recently celebrated Trinity Sunday Mass in the Chapel. The Mass was very well attended by students, staff, Old Boys and families and it was wonderful to have some of our Christian Brothers in attendance as well. On Friday 9 April, we held an event that has most probably been decades in the making – Hoodoo Gurus LIVE at the Astor! What an event that was. We had 700 people in attendance dancing away to the support act, Mod Squad – Dave Thomas (‘85) and Ian Falk (‘84); with James ‘Slim Jim’ Mercanti (‘80) and, of course, our very own Dave Faulkner (‘74) as lead singer of the Hoodoo Gurus. Special thanks go to Di Millar and Dave Thomas (’85) for organising this special event and to the Hoodoo Gurus for appearing at ‘mates rates’ for the night. This enabled the association to realise a good profit on the night and thus make a significant donation to the Friends of Performing Arts (FOPA). On 8 March, 100 Old Boys and friends played in TOBA Golf Day – the largest field seen for years. It was a very humid afternoon at The Western Australian Golf Club in Yokine and was dedicated to the memory of Justin Little (’92) who had recently passed away after a short illness. His brother, Ash (’97), sponsored a hole and it was fantastic to honour Justin as a community in this small way. Led by Friends of Footy President, Matt Brennan (’86), TOBA was happy to support a great initiative and contributed financially towards the new electronic scoreboard at the Waterford Playing Fields. We held our AGM in March and along with our Executive Officer, Di Millar, I am proud to announce the incoming committee as follows: Dion Smith (’87), President John Hansen ('58), Vice-president David Foti ('89), Treasurer Adrian Di Carlo (’89), Secretary Brendan Molony ('65), Committee Member Frank Mulligan (’76), Committee Member Paul Higgins (’82), Committee Member Phil Hinton (’84), Committee Member Dave Thomas (’85), Committee Member Richard Mackiewicz ('87),Committee Member David Tobin ('87), Committee Member Rob Jurjevich (’90), Committee Member Jude Celedin ('91), Committee Member Gianni Redolatti (’91), Committee Member Chris Jones (’97), Committee Member George Rebeiro (’01), Committee Member Jeremy Hansen (’18), Committee Member The committee is made up of 17 Old Boys across six decades, from John Hansen (’58) through to Jeremy Hansen (’18). I would like to especially welcome the following new committee members: Frank Mulligan (’76), Paul Higgins (’82), Dave Thomas (’85), Rob Jurjevich (’90) and Jeremy Hansen (’18). As we welcome the new committee, I also farewell and thank our retiring Vice-president, Terry Jones (‘70), who has stepped down from the TOBA Committee after many years of service. Terry performed his last formal duty for TOBA when he presented Maureen Barnett with a framed memento from the 125th anniversary for her 20 years of service in leading the Trinity College Pipes & Drums. Whilst we have been able to have some fantastic events so far this year, unfortunately due to a COVID lockdown in WA, we were unable to have our Anzac service with our ex-servicemen Old Boys, which is usually a very special commemoration in our calendar. Also, sadly, our Golden Heritage Club members were unable to join the Year 12s for Mass at the beginning of the year. However, we have been able to celebrate the class reunions of 1961 and 2019 and, fingers crossed, the many others scheduled for this year will go ahead as planned. Remember if you want to get involved with TOBA for a reunion, an event, as a committee member, or to help fundraise – or just share an idea – you are always welcome. Please contact Di Millar, a committee member or me. Keep the Blue Flag Flying …

Dion Smith (‘87)

President Trinity-Terrace Old Boys’ Association