How a Team of Dedicated Volunteers Brought a Club Back to Life

Coledale RSL, just north of Wollongong, closed its doors in late 2022 and was facing the very real prospect of never operating again.

But a group of determined volunteers brought the Club back from the brink, ensuring the survival of a community institution that dated back to the 1940s.

The Club was recently among a group of small clubs afforded the ability to attend the 2024 ClubsNSW Conference & AGM through the Clubs Helping Clubs program.

“It has given me an insight, well and truly, into what the industry is about,” Coledale RSL Secretary Manager Greg Todd tells the ClubLIFE Podcast in a new episode released today.

“Going to the AGM and the Conference up there at the Gold Coast, it was so nice to meet so many people that were interested in what it was that we were doing, what it was that we’ve achieved.

“It was very enlightening — it was nice to be part of that community, it is a community, the boards of directors I could tell once I got there that they knew each other, they had seen each other on a regular basis.”

Greg attended the event thanks to the generosity of Wests Group Macarthur, which was among a group of larger clubs who purchased Conference tickets for smaller venues.

“I’d like to thank Wests Macarthur…[who] helped Greg get to that event,” Coledale RSL President Melissa Ellery tells the ClubLIFE Podcast

“We’ve also had help from Michael Clancy at Bankstown Sports, who’s really helped us out with any questions that we have, and that was from winning the award at the ClubsNSW awards night that we actually made that contact.”

The resurrection of Coledale RSL is testament to the hard-working group of volunteers who have not just helped to keep a much-loved community asset, but also enriched the lives of locals who live within it.

Greg agrees: “It’s been really nice to actually know the name of the face that you walk past going down the street, and say g’day to Mick, g’day to Malcolm… you know the people’s names and you can stand there and have a beer with them at the bar,” Greg tells the ClubLIFE Podcast.

As well as feeling supported by individual clubs, the pair have also taken advantage of the services available as a ClubsNSW member club.

“I have to say that for those first few months I was rather ignorant of what ClubsNSW has to offer. Now that I understand it, now that I’ve been able to tap into it, it’s good, it’s just nice to know that there’s support there for us,” says Greg.

Melissa adds: “And I think that we needed some support along the way with media as well… we had a media incident, and I was able to pick up the phone straight away.

“We got support when we were doing our lease as well, so we’ve had that ongoing support all the time.”

Click on the link below to hear the full interview with Melissa Ellery and Greg Todd in the fifth episode of the ClubLIFE Podcast, which is also available via ClubLIFE.com.au, Apple, Spotify and wherever else you get your podcasts.

If you have a suggestion on who might make an interesting guest for a future ClubLIFE Podcast episode, get in touch with the team by emailing [email protected].