Benevolent society secretary retires

By Jim Mynard
BERWICK Benevolent Society secretary Bert Ainge has stood down after nearly two decades of service to the society.
Mr Ainge told the society’s annual meeting in the Andrews Centre, Endeavour Hills on Monday that he felt it was time to hand the job over.
He said that he and his wife Pat also planned to spend more time travelling.
President Fay Powell highly commended Mr Ainge on his work for the society.
Mrs Powell in her annual report warned that the society was struggling to meet the demands for help in a growing community.
“The major problem we are facing is depletion of our bank balance, which at the end of June 2001 was nearly $160,000, including long term deposits,” she said.
“By the end of June 2005 our total asset was about $95,000.
“Some of us predicted this situation was bound to happen, while others felt we should not have money in the bank, but should be using it.”
Mrs Powell said that if the trend was allowed to continue the society would be surviving on a month to month basis.
She said the number of individuals seeking assistance had increased from 6944 to 7454 in a year.