Commencing Saturday 18th January the Shed will be open to members for a trial period of six week. The Shed will open at about 1PM until (subject to usage) 4PM.

We have a commitment from “The Saturday Team” to open each Saturday afternoon, from 1PM for an initial six weeks. Beyond that date who knows? We shall meet again with them and re-assess.

Channel Mens’ Shed Christmas Function
It was a good night with the major surprise (for Jacquie at least) being the draw of the raffle.
Catering was, again, top of the range with entrees, oyster, ham, turkey, chicken and salads.
The Shed’s thanks go to our raffle sales persons together with all those in the back room.
A special thank you to all our Members who supported our 2019 Christmas function. From the feedback we have received it was a real success.
The function was attended by approximately 80 CMS Members and Partners, Stitch & Share and Boronia Trefoil Guild Ladies, plus invited guests.
We are grateful for Corporate support in the form of donations from Huon Aquaculture, Albatross Fisheries and Mures Fishing. The support provided has allowed us hold the event with minimal cost to CMS and Members.
The Committee would like to thank those Members/Partners who provided assistance with planning, preparation, sourcing of produce, presentation and service on the night, plus those who helped clean up after the event.
Specifically we would like to thank:

Front of House Ladies who also helped with preparation
Jenny Huntley
Judy Grant
Pam Morrison
Mary Shelley
Vicki Norris

and

John Rainbird
Trevor Grant
Steve Huntley
Todd Mazur

We do look forward to a similarly successful event next year.

Members may recall over two years ago we were seeing a continual growth in our power usage. During early 2018 we started an awareness program in the Shed to minimise power wastage.
Early 2019 we applied for and received a Stronger Communities Grant to upgrade our electrical. This involved:
• Upgrading our switchboard
• Replacing the Hi-bay lights with LED
• Replacing all Fluro light fittings with LED
• Some additional lighting
• Additional power outlets and cabling
• Installing additional switching, timers and motion sensors

The following chart indicates the gains made since the changes were implemented.

While average daily usage for our tariff has dropped substantially, the amount we are putting back into the grid has also increased. Unfortunately with the Feed-in tariff reductions the financial benefit we receive is less.

While the equipment changes have had a major effect, the awareness of Members has also made a substantial contribution to the reduction in power usage.