"People forget about us until there is a disaster, and we're there. We're their first point of contact," Red Cross Taree Club liaison officer, Lyanne McFarlane said.
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Lyanne was the organiser of the Country Zone 4 Red Cross Conference held at Club West in Taree on Thursday, September 12.
Around 50 people attended the conference with representation from clubs and branches from Tea Gardens, Stroud, Forster Tuncurry, Mount George, Tinonee, Taree, and Wingham.
Rod and Jill Illidge were special guests, with Rod officially opening the conference. Other special guests were Red Cross director NSW/ACT Poppy Brown, and Red Cross regional manager Northern Region Janelle Cazaubon. Kantabile Chamber Choir performed a set to the delight of the delegates.
"We were lucky that Poppy was in the area and she was able to come and meet everybody. That's the first time we've ever had anybody from execuctive," Lyanne said.
People forget about us until there is a disaster, and we're there. We're their first point of contact.
- Lyanne McFarlane
Lyanne was extremely pleased with how the conference was received by the delegates.
"A lot of feedback that we got from the other clubs and branches was the fact that they were very pleased that somebody from the executive was there that they could direct questions to because they sometimes get the impression that being out in the sticks nobody at an executive level is interested in what is going on in regional clubs," Lyanne said.
"They also got the opportunity to actually ask the tricky questions."
A major theme running through the conference was the need to enlist younger people to become volunteers for the organisation.
I think the main thing that we're looking at is how to move forward and encourage more people to join.
- Lyanne McFarlane
"I think the main thing that we're looking at is how to move forward and encourage more people to join. And we're kind of caught here because the older members are very used to doing things a certain way. And then you've got the people we'd like to attract to become Red Cross members," Lyanne said.
"Seriously, this is the big issue moving forward. Do we start having our meetings at night so that people who do work can become involved? But there's resistance to that. It's quite socially complex. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"I think what all the clubs and branches have got to do is think about what they want from their club, what they want from their branch, what they want to achieve, because we could achieve so much more," she said.
To find out more about becoming a member of local Red Cross clubs and branches, contact Lyanne on 0417 800 838.