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Some old news can still be be found at aacfallscreek.blogspot.com. The blog was retired some years ago and may contain information that is no longer correct
The Special General Meeting on 13 April approved the proposed changes to the Rules of Association. Thanks to all those who took part.
The minutes of the meeting are at aacfallscreek.com/pdf/SGM2021/Minutes_SGM2021.pdf
The amended Rules can be found at aacfallscreek.com/xDocs/rules/Rules2021.pdf or via the Member page on the club website
Save the date - AGM on 18 May
This year's AGM will again be a videoconference. We hope that next year we will be able to have a meeting where peolple can attend in person, or by videoconference.
Sorry, couldn't help myself with an Easter pun!
Easter 2021 at AAC Falls Creek was a sight to behold! Fantastic weather, pristine walking and riding trails, beautiful views and most importantly, people in the Lodge!! It really was great to be back at Falls Creek, our home away from home.
Granted, for those travelling from Melbourne the drive was longer than usual with plenty of complete stops on the Hume highway to keep you on guard, but thankfully it seemed most took their time and kept their cool.
A huge thanks again to John B, Jenny H and Justin C for all they did getting the Lodge COVID-friendly for Easter, it was great to see everyone socially distancing, disinfecting and checking in using the QR code when they arrived.
Wish you were there? Well here's a selection of photos which hopefully let's you feel like you were there and might inspire you to visit in 2022.
Notice is given that a Special General Meeting of AAC Falls Creek Inc will be held:
DATE: Tuesday, 13 April, 2021
VENUE: via Zoom videoconference
TIME: 7:30 pm – Special General Meeting to commence
RSVP by Friday 9 April 2021 is essential
AGENDA
1. Apologies
2. Update the Rules of Association
Special Resolutions to be voted on
A. That the proposed changes to replace the term President with Chairperson be adopted
B. That the proposed changes to better support videoconference annual general meetings be adopted
C. That the proposed change to update the means of giving notice be adopted
D. That the proposed change to the example age for a progressive debenture/joining fee payment be adopted
Preparation and conduct of this special general meeting
• To be admitted to the meeting you must RSVP by email to
• The meeting may only address items on this notice.
• All proxy forms, must be submitted to
• If you will be attending the meeting, please prepare in advance. Install Zoom on your computer, tablet or phone and use Zoom’s facilities to test that your audio and video are working. If you have a headset with microphone, please use it to reduce background noise.
• Please keep your mic muted during the meeting unless the chairman recognises you to speak. The chairman or his assistant may mute you if necessary. We prefer having all cameras active during the meeting but you may be asked to “mute” cameras if there are difficulties.
Jenny Hughes (Secretary)
C/- ProAcct Advisors & Accountants Pty Ltd
PO Box 140 BALWYN VIC 3103
Phone: (03) 9880-9600
Email:
Note: The AGM is planned for Tue 18 May.
________________________________________
Explanation of Proposed Changes
Why do we need to change the Rules?
Elections for committee members have rarely been required. When the Rules of Association (aka the constitution) were updated in 2014 to comply with new legislation for Incorporated Associations, we simply adopted the default election procedure from the Model Rules provided by government. Our focus at the time was more on ensuring that our membership and debenture provisions were properly included in the new Rules.
In 2019 and 2020, however, the club was in the fortunate position of having more willing candidates than positions to fill. The election in 2019 showed some weaknesses in the procedure laid down in the rules. In 2020 the AGM was held as a video conference. It became clear that while the Rules allowed for members to attend the AGM and vote using technology, this was not well supported by some of the other rules pertaining to AGMs and elections.
The videoconference AGM was very successful, allowing members to participate who had previously been unable to attend in person. The Committee has determined that even after the pandemic has subsided, AGMs should encourage remote attendance. Accordingly the Rules should be revised to explicitly include measures that were beneficial in the running of an AGM that includes members attending via technology. After reflecting on the ballot process for videoconferences it became clear that further improvements to the process should be considered in future, such as the possibility of using preferential voting. The proposed rule changes address all these considerations and should be treated as a group.
While reviewing the Rules, some other minor items were identified that we would like to update.
Summary of the proposed changes
The specific changes proposed are detailed in aacfallscreek.com/pdf/SGM2021/Detail_of_Proposed_Changes.pdf .
The current Rules of Association can be found at aacfallscreek.com/xDocs/rules/rules2014.pdf .
Improve support for video conference AGMs
Rule 40 Use of technology
- Allow modified procedure where a video conference or similar is used for a meeting
Rule 43 Adjournment of general meeting
- Allow adjournment if there are serious technology problems
Rule 35 Annual General Meetings
- Allow election of committee and possibly some resolutions to be voted on before the AGM. Allow finalisation of results after the meeting closes.
- Allow a deadline for proxies prior to a meeting so proxy voting is efficient during a videoconference, including validation of the proxies
Rule 57 Nominations
- Allow for a deadline for nominations prior to the AGM so that a ballot can be organised if required
Rule 59 Ballot
- Allow for a ballot process other than the simplistic paper process that was in the model rules
- The new wording provides scope for a ballot to be held before the AGM, with announcement of the results at the AGM, or possibly soon after the AGM. There is also scope to move to preferential voting without mandating it
Rule 39 Proxies
- Allow for a situation where there is a direct ballot of members and proxy votes will not be used
Rule 46 Determining whether resolution carried
- Allow for electronic equivalent of a written poll in a videoconference
Other proposed changes
In revising the Rules, we also identified a number of minor changes that would be beneficial
- Use the term Chairperson rather than President (numerous occurrences throughout the Rules)
- Remove faxes as a means of giving notices and make allowance for direct electronic messaging such as SMS (Rule 80 Notice Requirements)
- Change an example of when junior membership payments may be due from 17 to 18 to reflect our current practice. It is only used as an example so this is not essential, but it would be clearer (Rule 12 Debentures)
________________________________________
After a thorough recruitment process, we are extremely pleased to announce the new AAC Falls Creek Lodge Managers are Julia Mitas and Craig Moegel.
Julia and Craig are Falls Creek locals and have previous experience managing a member lodge on the mountain. Julia will have primary responsibility for the day to day management of the Lodge while Craig will also provide assistance as required. For those that have visited “The Pass” for a coffee or snack, you may recognise Julia from there, while Craig is well known as Falls Creek Ski Patrol Leader and SES volunteer.
Julia and Craig are planning on moving into the Lodge in March and we will provide further updates as details are finalised.
Welcome Julia and Craig!
Usually in summer the club needs to apply a minimum fee of $300 to cover the costs of opening and closing the lodge. This can be an obstacle for small groups wanting short stays. For the last few years we have waived the fee at popular times to encourage members and guests to enjoy Falls Creek in "green" season.
Unfortunately some of the minimum fee free opportunities were lost due to the bushfires. To make up for this, no minimum fees will apply for the rest of the green season (to end April 2020). Mountain bike shuttles run every weekend till 26 April, or ride the trails anytime under your own steam. Autumn walking and fishing are great or just explore the High Plains or tour the valleys below with an #EmptyEsky.
The fires did not touch the resort or mountain bike trails. The road across the Bogong High Plains is open all the way to the Omeo Highway and many tracks have reopened. (Some further parts of the Bogong High Plains closed see https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au/media-releases/park-and-forest-closures for details)
#RollonBack to the high country and have a great stay at AAC Falls Creek
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update 23/3/2020
In line with today’s State and Federal Government announcements, regarding the closure of many non essential businesses and restrictions on non essential travel, the committee has decided to close the lodge to members and guests from today until further notice.
Andrew Rist and his family expect to remain in residence during the period that the lodge is closed, however long that may be.
As stated in my previous COVID-19 update, full refunds will be given to all members and guests who have paid for accommodation this season.
We will keep you informed of any changes as they occur.
Nigel Cowie
President
The Chief Medical Officer was more upbeat about non-lifted skiing. "There's probably nothing to stop individuals going out on cross-country skiing now [in resorts and national parks that are not closed]". That's good news for those who can day trip to areas that reopen but might be salt in the wounds for those further away. No overnight stays are allowed yet.
At the time of writing there was nothing official about reopening of Falls Creek resort area or the Alpine National Park.
We were about to confirm that the AGM would go ahead on 25 August at the usual venue. However the new restrictions mean that we will reassess that. The proposed date is less than a week from the date that Stage 3 restrictions are scheduled to ease. There is no guarantee that we can hold an in-person meeting then. We may either defer again, subject to what the regulator allows, or organise a video conference AGM.
The annual reports were provided previously. If you would like to discuss any matters ahead of the AGM, please contact the relevant committee member/s.
Notice is given that the 2020 Annual General Meeting of AAC Falls Creek Inc will be held:
DATE: Tuesday, 25 August, 2020
VENUE: via Zoom videoconference
TIME: 7:30 pm - Annual General Meeting to commence
RSVP by 20 August 2020 is essential
AGENDA
- Apologies
- Receive and adopt the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
- Business arising from the Minutes
- Correspondence
- Receive and adopt the Committee's Reports
- Receive and adopt the Profit And Loss Account and Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2019
- Proposed New Annual Subscription for 2020
- Receive and adopt the Auditor's Report
- Appoint an Auditor for 2020
- Election of the Committee
- A.A.C. Business
- General Business
- Bushfires
- Covid-19
- Life Members
Preparation and conduct of the meeting
- COVID-19 restrictions in Melbourne will not allow a normal AGM to be held by the current deadline. Instead, attendance will be via Zoom videoconference only. This will create some challenges but the committee thinks that these are manageable. Various snowsports clubs and other associations report success with this approach.
- To be admitted to the meeting you must RSVP by email to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 7pm Thursday 20th August. Prior to the AGM you will be sent a link to join the meeting. - The meeting will be kept as succinct as possible. We also need to make voting as uncomplicated as possible, while ensuring that it is done faithfully.
- Therefore all nominations, proxies, items of general business must be submitted to the Treasurer at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 7pm Thursday 20th August. Any proposed Motions must also be provided to the Treasurer by this date. - You are strongly encouraged to send any questions to the Treasurer by the same date. There will be an opportunity to submit some questions on the night but questions with notice will be more manageable with the technology. (Questions on the night will be via SMS or Zoom chat.)
- If you will be attending the meeting, please prepare in advance. Install Zoom on your computer, tablet or phone and use Zoom’s facilities to test that your audio and video are working. If you have a headset with microphone, please use it to reduce background noise.
- Please keep your mic muted during the meeting unless the chairman recognises you to speak. The chairman or his assistant may mute you if necessary. We prefer having all cameras active during the meeting but you may be asked to “mute” cameras if there are difficulties.
- Voting may be a bit laborious. Please be patient if votes need to be counted.
Motions to be voted on
- That the committee reports be accepted
- That the meeting accept the Financial Statements as recommended by the committee
- That the adult annual subscription rate remain at $370
- That the meeting accept the Auditor’s Report
- That E F McPhail and Partners be appointed as auditor until the next AGM
(our current auditor John Watty will be operating under this name) - That 4 ordinary committee members are required for the coming year, in addition to the 3 executive members
Election of committee members
The committee recommends that a total of 7 committee members be elected (3 executive members plus 4 ordinary committee members). At the previous meeting 9 were elected but the committee believe that the roles can be consolidated this year. At the committee meeting after the AGM, the committee elects members to specific positions. At the time of this notice, Nigel Cowie and Tony Ryder intend retiring. All other current members are intending to stand again.
Documents
- Committee reports can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2020/CommitteeReports.pdf
- Financial reports (including Auditor's report) can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2020/FinancialStatements.pdf
- Summary of AAC Falls Creek COVID Response can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2020/CovidReport.pdf
- Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2020/MinutesAGM2019.pdf
- Proxy Forms may be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2020/ProxyForm2020.pdf
- Nomination Forms may be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2020/NominationForm2020.pdf
Jenny Hughes (Secretary)
C/- ProAcct Advisors & Accountants Pty Ltd
PO Box 140 BALWYN VIC 3103
Phone: (03) 9880-9600
Fax: (03) 9880-9699
Email:
They say that all good things must come to an end and for AAC Falls Creek, it is true. Andrew and Myra are moving on after ten amazing years as our Lodge Managers.
For many of us it will be hard to believe it’s been ten years, but it’s true. I’m sure for Andrew and Myra, all those early mornings, all the bed-making and all the cleaning makes it feel well and truly like ten years!
With Andrew and Myra being Lodge Managers for so long, we all got to know them (along with Reeve, Deb and Russell) pretty well, so we couldn’t let them move on without a few of our strongest memories being mentioned.
First up has to be Andrew’s shorts, right? When you see someone flying down the Summit in shorts, you know immediately who it is. When someone on the lift next to you says, “who’s that idiot wearing shorts when it’s minus 2 degrees”, you proudly turn to them say, “That’s Andrew our Lodge Manager, and if you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it!!”. What you might not know is that Andrew even made his own personal tool belt to suit his shorts! No overalls here, he was often seen skating from job to job on the mountain, with hammers, chisels, tape measure and screwdrivers all clinking and clunking away getting as he made his way around the village.
Next thing about Andrew is his cleaning. Man can the guy clean! Not satisfied with even the most fastidious cleaning by us members, or even Myra or Deb, Andrew just HAD to re-clean the same area to ensure it was “Risty Clean”! And we can’t not mention Andrew’s personal transport machine during snow season, the Axtrack. What I bet you didn’t know is that he bought it for the price of a pot of beer! I’ve heard of “buy me a drink and I’ll love you forever”, but I’ve never heard of “buy me a drink and you can have my Axtrack!”
And now on to Myra. No Myra you don’t get off that easily! We all love how comfortable Myra is in the lodge and wearing her PJ’s in the dining room showed just how comfortable Myra was around us all. Did you know that the year that Myra was pregnant, we hardly saw her? Everyone was asking “where’s Myra” and of course Andrew said nothing. It wasn’t until the committee meeting in September that Myra let on that she was pregnant and the reason why she wasn’t being seen was because the poor thing was suffering so badly with morning sickness! But it was all worth it, with the little bundle of joy that you both produced, and in doing so providing so much entertainment for members who got to play with Reeve whilst staying at the Lodge.
One thing we did notice, Myra, was the VIP treatment we all seemed to get once we made it known to the oversnow guys that we were from AAC! Once you made it clear you were going to “Myra’s place” it was like magic, you would be plucked out of the queue, brought to the front and be put onto the first available oversnow! I’m going to miss that! The other thing we’ll miss, Myra, is the annual Jam run where you and Deb would deliver abundant jars of every which flavour of jam you ever wanted. Yum!
The key memory I think everyone has from Andrew and Myra’s tenure is just how much they made you feel at home. If you didn’t know how something worked, they would take you through it. Wanted some advice on where to eat out? No problem. Couldn’t get the TV to work because the snow had covered the Foxtel satellite dish? No problem, Andrew would clear the snow (yes, in his shorts) and the footy match coverage would come back on. Disaster averted. And race night dinners – they were always something to look forward to, no matter how bad your time down the course!
And it’s not just AAC where Andrew and Myra have left their mark, they are well known around the mountain for chipping in and helping out others. Whether it’s putting on wood fired pizza nights, or attending SES call outs, they’re the first to help. Andrew, Myra and Reeve will continue to reside at the Lodge for the immediate future, keeping an eye on things and continuing to chip in on the mountain as they always do.
So, from all AAC Falls Creek Members and our Guests, we want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to Andrew and Myra. We wish you all the very best in the next chapter of your lives and we hope to see you both, along with Reeve and Deb and Russell at the Club in 2021 and beyond.
THANK YOU!
- Open Position: AAC Falls Creek Lodge Manager
- 2021 Early Bird Epic Pass
- Thank You Nigel!
- New AAC Falls Creek Committee
- New AACFC Life Members
- AAC 70th Anniversary Neck Buffs For Sale
- 2021 Summer Season Rates
- Reeve makes the headlines
- Accommodation Refunds
- Annual Reports for 2019
- AGM Postponed
- Club Communications - can you help?
- Waitlisted bookings - early approval of some requests
- Annual General Meeting
- Work Party
- Enjoy Falls Creek this Summer
- Summer Cleaning
- Booking System - What's New
- Enjoy a summer break without the minimum fee - UPDATED
- High Country is coming to Melbourne