YANCO All-Servicemen’s Club future is on shaky ground, with the business $443,000 in debt.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
An urgent meeting with members was called on Monday night to update them on the situation, with the club now on a strict deadline to meet targets in order to bring that debt down.
By the end of this week, $20,000 needed to be raised by today, with $23,000 already reached through member donations. However, $113,000 needs to be raised by the end of the month for the club to keep its operations going.
It’s not new news that small clubs like the one in Yanco are struggling across the country. In 2012 the Leeton Soldiers Club was placed into voluntary administration after its debt almost forced it to close its doors permanently.
Yanco All-Servicemen’s Club secretary-manager Andrew Hurst didn’t shy away from the situation. “Basically the club is in trouble … in great financial difficulty,” he said.
“In saying that, a lot of positives came out of the meeting. There were a lot of positives with the way forward and how we can go forward.
“As much as they negatives are there … the issue didn’t happen overnight. We’ve been dealing with this for six months. Pushing forward we’ve got functions booked in. We’ve got stuff happening.
“Providing we can get back to that even keel, we are viable. We’re a viable proposition. I’ve got no doubt in that. We’ve got projections to say we are viable, but it’s just playing the catch up.”
The Yanco club is long known for its association with the community, having been a meeting place for many service groups and organisations, as well as supporting sporting clubs, schools and more.
At present, the club needs to be making $17,000 a week to be viable and each time it doesn’t, the debt rises, hence the current situation. The call now is for the community to lend a hand to help get the debt under control.
There’s been many ideas on how to do this, according to club president Joe Iannelli.
The club has passed new function prices, which it says are the cheapest in town.
Another idea will be to ask residents to give a donation, but the next time they book a function that money will then be taken off their bar tab.
Also being thrown about is the idea of a 10-year membership, which would cost $50.
So, if 1000 people signed up for 10 years, this would generate $50,000. The club’s courtesy bus is available for any function, but the main idea is to get people back in through the doors at the club.
Another misconception is the only food available is through the Chinese restaurant, but a variety of meals through to grazing tables can be catered for.
Residents can also donate to a bank account to help the club reach its end-of-month deadline and keep afloat.
Bank details
BSB: 062 564
Account: 2801 5659
Use your surname for remittance.
****
While you’re with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Friday at 6am from The Irrigator. To make sure you’re up to date with all news in Leeton sign up here.
