Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of a large group of volunteers who ran the Lilydale Show on Saturday, 18 November. It is an annual event that has been a fixture on the calendar in Lilydale for many years. It runs for the whole weekend and a whole host of community groups and hardworking individuals make it the success it is every year, and this year was no exception.

I particularly pay tribute to the Executive Committee of the Lilydale Agricultural and Horticultural Show; the president, Mrs Mary Burfort; the secretary, Ms Kathie Mason; the treasurer, Mr Bob Higgs; the vice-president, Ms Jenny Gell; and, Ms Joan Caldwell and Mr Albert Veerman. I also pay tribute to the more than 300 volunteers from a range of community groups who worked tirelessly over the weekend and in the days before. Those groups include: the CFA, the local Scouts, the Lions Club, the Guides, the SES, St John’s Ambulance, Rovers, Venturers, Rotary, Neighbourhood Watch, Yarra Valley Vintage Machinery, Goldminers, Grace Community Church, Puffing Billy and the StormCo church group. The committee worked tirelessly to make the show a success and more than 300 volunteers were organised. The planning by the committee takes 10 months of the year. It was a very successful event and, like all years before it, the number of people who turned up over the Saturday and Sunday exceeded last year’s number. I pay tribute to all of them for putting on such a wonderful event.

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