This month has marked the beginning of the Spring season for Annual General Meetings, and I had the pleasure of attending the Ringwood Historical Society AGM on the 22nd of September.

The Society documents the history of Ringwood and it is great to see renewed interest in our local history. The Ringwood Historical Society previously met on a quarterly basis, but now meets monthly covering a diverse range of topics within our community.

The Eastern Volunteers Annual General Meeting followed on the 24th of September and I was joined by Cr. Lamont and Cr. Macdonald in attending this event. Eastern Volunteers is continuing to grow strongly and is planning three major events over the course of the next year, its annual Fun Run for March, the return of its community conference in July and a Multicultural Festival planned for October.

The Ringwood Diving Club Annual General Meeting was held on the 11th of October and is a sporting club that encourages participation in diving based at the Ringwood Aquatic Centre.

Several special weeks all seemed to converge in October, including Mental Health Week, Maroondah Business Week and the Maroondah Seniors Festival.

On the 8th of October I attended a presentation on the National Seniors Association. The National Seniors Association is unique in that while it provides a social connection, it also provides significant policy advice and advocacy.

On the 9th of October I attended the Ringwood Bowls Club 80th anniversary and season launch. The Ringwood Bowls Club is a successful sporting club and has a strong community focus. The club has had an emphasis on environmental sustainability through the installation of a water retention system and is also focused on social sustainability, through developing partnerships with community organisations.

One of the partnerships the Bowls Club has developed is with the Ringwood Spiders and is great to see that the Club mentioned the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Night as one of its highlights. The Club is planning further community events including a jazz evening in November and partnerships with Eastern Volunteers.

Lastly, I attended a combined Ringwood U3A, North Ringwood Seniors and Enjoying Planned Retirement Luncheon on Saturday the 17th of October.

It is great to see the members of each group supporting each other and I would like to commend the committee members and members for the holistic view of the facility. In addition, I would also like to commend the council officers that have supported these groups and responded to the concerns that they have raised.