Westpac turned 200 on 8th April and as part of celebrations local branches are inviting not-for-profit organisations to apply for a $500 funding boost to help them sup- port their community.

The funding boost was also offered last year in the lead-up to the birthday mile- stone, and Forbes Westpac branch received 15 applications.

Local Westpac branch manager, Shannon Crowley said: “Any local charity or non- profit group in the Forbes area can enter giving details about the group and how they will spend the money.”

“It’s all managed locally. Forbes Westpac staff will read every application and have the tough job of deciding where the money will go.”

Shannon encourages applicants to be specific in their application about how the funding boost will help them. There are no other conditions associated with the funding. Organisations don’t need to have a Westpac account to apply, and don’t need to open one.

Submissions can be emailed directly to Shannon Crowley at shcrowley@westpac. com.au by 23rd June and a winner will be announced on 26th June.

In addition the branch has also opened applications for the annual Westpac Foundation Community Grant, with a possible $10,000 funding boost for eligible organisations. Interested organisations can contact Shannon on 6850 1554.

By Rochelle Bright

Every year in May, the Lachlan Valley Caravan Club holds its annual week-long bush rally. The camping grounds at Kiacatoo have played host to this event, and the club’s annual Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser, for the past few years.

This year local residents were invited to join around 40 club members last Thurs- day afternoon for homemade treats, raffles, door prizes, competitions and musical entertainment.

Those who came along enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm of club members as they put on quite a show in the camping ground’s enormous tin shed.

Former school teachers Helen Pitt and Ruth Armstrong delighted the audience with a brilliant comedy skit about playing bowls.

In full costume, and with a bag of props that included a giant bunch of spinach, a bottle of wine, and a lump of wood, they delivered a performance worthy of a larger stage.

Between activities, Rob Armstrong (bass guitar), Rod Maxey (banjo), Jim Blacker (keyboard), and Bill Dolle (vocals), kept everyone’s toes tapping with their easy listening tunes.

The event raised over $900 for cancer research. The week-long bush rally is one of the most popular for members. Between fishing in the Lachlan river, bushwalking and camp oven cooking, there’s plenty to do.

And for anyone looking to escape life’s modern distractions, there’s no mobile phone or internet coverage.
The Lachlan Valley Caravan Club is the fourth largest van club in NSW, with 70 vans (around 140 people) registered as members. Their members come from right across the Central West and as far away as South Coast NSW.

They hold 10 to 12 rallies each year and for the remainder of this year plan to visit places like Tea Gardens, the Boomi Artesian Pool and Bendigo.

For more information visit www.lachlanvalleycaravanclub.org.au, or call secretary Gail Blacker on 0400 320 407.

By Rochelle Bright

This 2,023m2 commercial zoned property at 23 Dowling Street is on the western side of Dowling Street in the northern portion of Central Business District of Forbes. It is also located near the BP service station, a building supply shop, Holden and Nissan dealer- ship, McDonalds, Caltex service station and other businesses in a high traffic area.

The location is fit for any type of business looking to develop with prominent highway frontage. The property is fenced with rear lane access and cement footpath at the front.

Council DA approved and traffic plan completed, for a car wash, details of which are available.

Access is available via Dowling Street, which is a two lane bitu- men sealed road carriageway with concrete kerb and gutter and concrete footpath in

Services available include electricity, town water , sewer, natural gas and telephone.

An open tour will take place tomorrow from 11:00am to 12:00pm. This is an opportunity to look at the block, get some more informa- tion and ask any questions you might have.

Individual inspections can also be arranged by contacting Ian Simpson on 0417 468 565.

An auction will take place on Saturday, 24th June onsite at 23 Dowling Street. Registrations commence at 9:30am, and the auc- tion starts at 10:00am sharp.

Bidders can register as a phone bidder or register and bid on the day in person.

The vendors of this property need to make a sale and will con- sider all offers prior to auction.

Located on the Newell Highway, Forbes attracts customers from far reaching Western NSW and visitors from all over the state.

Call Ian Simpson on 0417 468 565.

Sadly, there is not much focus on financial education when we are growing up. Most of us get our money skills from a combination of what we learned from our parents and a lifetime of trial and error.

With no disrespect to my parents or anyone else’s, the reality is that most of them had little idea of what they were doing because no one ever taught them how to manage money. So, watching them work their way through trial and error isn’t a great start and then we’re left to do the same. It isn’t a great recipe for success when you only have a limited time that you’ll be earning an income.

So, this is an intervention. Money shouldn’t be a taboo topic, it should be something we’re all clued up about, something we all have a strong concept of and an understanding of what our options are.

It’s your life and your income. It’s not my job to tell you how you should spend either. What I do want to do, however, is help you do it with your eyes open so that you can be making informed decisions about your money, not guessing which way to go and hoping for the best via trial and error.

Financial education is your path to understanding money and understanding money is your key to making the most of what you learn.

Cheers, Daniel

(Daniel McGregor is a founding partner of Wealth Train, an Australian Financial Services Licence Holder (474966) empowering Australians with finan- cial education. Any advice given is general in nature and readers should seek their own professional ad- vice before making any financial decisions.)

Entries for the Forbes Flatland Cyclo Sportif last weekend doubled with about 80 riders from all over NSW competing in the two events.

Line honours in the 120km event went to Dubbo’s Michael Ticehurst averaging a blis- tering 40km/h. He was followed by Adam Coleman from Orange and Hayden Bird from MacGregor ACT. The first female fin- isher was Jennifer Short.

The 72km event was dominated by Ba- thurst cyclists with Harry Bryant in first posi- tion, Stuart Renshaw second and Thereisa Gallagher third. Local Nick Turner and Nick Field flew the Forbes flag with top ten placings.

Matthew Hancock said the club was really happy with the day and received fan- tastic feedback from riders who did not real- ise how lovely Forbes was to ride in. “They can’t wait for next year’s event.”

The club thanked the sponsors and the many volunteers who helped on the day. The profits of the day will be donated to a charity still to be decided on.

Fruity faces, healthy pancakes and even kangaroo stew were available for the community to enjoy at the Forbes Food Revolution Day held last Friday at the Church in the Schoolyard.

Most of the visitors were children from lo- cal schools who came to try different foods with their friends.

They also got to dig their hands into buckets of compost with Netwaste’s Sue Clarke, and taste different kinds of olives as Marg Applebee from Landcare explained how they are grown.

Between activities, the kids lined up for spray-on tattoos, courtesy of Neighbourhood Central volunteers.

This is the fourth time organisers Lucy Pearce and Maree Yapp have run the annual event.

“I believe in teaching kids from a very young age to make healthy choices,” said Lucy, who is the local Food Revolution Am- bassador.

Maree, from Schools as Community Centres (SaCC), is passionate about food security and land care.

“I’m interested in the whole cycle of food,” she said. “And between us, we’re trying to extend the message about eating healthy right through the year.”

During May, Maree and Lucy also run Real Food Tasting sessions, which aim to encourage children between the ages of three and eight to try different fruits and vegetables.

This year, they expect to reach over 800 local children.

“We get so much feedback from parents about kids that have always refused to eat fruit or vegetables suddenly deciding that, because they’ve tried it at school with their friends, they eat fruit and vegetables now,” said Lucy.

To find out more about Food Revolution or the Real Food Tasting program visit the Facebook page, contact Maree Yapp at SaCC on 6852 3008, or Lucy Pearce on 6851 5809.

By Rochelle Bright