STRENGTHENING Cape York’s only publicly-owned golf course is a major priority for Michele Elms, president of the Carpentaria Golf Club in Weipa.
Last week, she said a $15,000 grant from Rio Tinto’s Community Development Fund would be spent on developing a business plan for the club, as well as training.
“We are a not for profit, member-driven and community-orientated club that operates 12 months of the year, seven days a week, on and off the golf course,” she said.
“Community clubs such as ours are not only providing public sporting facilities, they are important community hubs for social interaction and engagement.
“Our facilities allow us to offer our members, guests, and the broader community a venue for hospitality, entertainment, fundraising and sporting with our 9-hole, 18-tee golf course.
“Our members have shared values and a sense of belonging and this strengthens the social fabric as well as promotes and builds a strong community.”
Ms Elms, who has been a stalwart at the golf club alongside husband Brett, said the success of the club was heavily dependent on the expertise and skill set of the elected volunteer management committee.
“The long term success or failure of any club should not be dependent on the vision and skills of its management committee,” she said on Wednesday.
“The funding received through this program will enable us to engage an independent non-biased financial and business advisory service to complete a financial health check, and implement recommendations.
“In addition, the funding is supporting us to bring an industry specialist to Weipa to provide governance workshops and technical training to not only us, but other community sporting and not-for-profit clubs.”
Ms Elms said that as a local organisation, the club needed to be able to respond to the needs of its members, guests and community.
“At the end of this project, we hope that Carpentaria Golf Club will have documented operational and strategic business plans and processes in place to guide future committees,” she said.
“The impact of this funding is broader than our club.
“In remote areas, you find that a lot of committees are supported by the same people, or have connection to others.
“By building the knowledge and capability of committee members, these skills can be transferred to other committees and clubs.”
