New Meeting Location 
Each month Perth Cichlid Society holds a meeting for members and public to attend. For quite some time this has been held at the South Perth Rotary Hall on Sandgate Street. We were informed some time ago that the location is going through some changes next year. The hall we currently use and the surroundings are being bull-dozed to create a new sporting facility and clubhouses.
This meant as a club we had to start looking for new premises. We asked the council about the new club rooms being built and if we could use them. We were told there would be no chance of storage (a big item for PCS) and that the availability might not be there for our meeting as other activities may take precedence. The cost to hire the new facilities would also be a large increase in what we currently pay and not very viable for a non-profit organisation such as ourselves.
Given this we have actively been pursuing other avenues for a location that PCS can call home. This was a monumental task and given storage, facility requirements and budget constraints, this task has been very difficult to achieve. Most places are not close to main roads or do not allow storage of items or do not fit our budget allowances.
Not to despair though. We have found a facility that is close to main roads, has all the requirements we need, will allow storage and is within our budget. We made the official announcement at our last meeting (June Quiz Night) that we were considering a new venue for meetings and had a slideshow to let folks view the location. It seemed well received by most parties, new folks and regulars, so we have taken the next step transitioning to a new premise.
The August PCS Meeting - AGM & Auction Night will be held at Atwell College. Although our choice of Atwell College is a bit further south than the old Rotary Hall, it is just off the freeway at Armadale Rd or Russel/Gibbs Rd and close to Roe Highway for those coming from the north or east. The extra time between the sites is only 10 minutes or so. There is a train station close by at Cockburn Central and another new train stop being built even closer at Harvest Lakes / Aubin Grove.
Atwell College is located at - 201 Brenchley Drive, Atwell, WA 6164.
Atwell College has so many great facilities for our clubs. There is ample, well lit parking spaces right at the door. No more walking down the dark streets on busy nights trying to find a spot. The buildings are quite new and have air conditioning and heating. Even the floors are heated, making it great for colder and hotter months and auctions.
The college has a lift and is fully wheelchair accessible. This opens our meetings up for all to attend, regardless of their physical restraints. This also handy for taking equipment upstairs.
They have much more room for our meetings with large meeting areas full of state of the art technology and wi-fi. Our area has two kitchens with all amenities so we are never under catered for events. Dishwashers, ovens, microwaves, sinks, hot water, 20mbs internet and wi-fi, giant projection screens and LCD TV's, in built audio. There are plenty of tables and chairs available to set up the room in any configuration, including couches and even a pool table.
It also includes a fantastic auditorium with all the technology required for international guests. No more need to find and hire expensive facilities when we have guests. It's part of the building we are in already. The auditorium features 70 tiered seats with wi-fi access and all the audio-visual requirements in built and podium. We can just organise the event and host it.
There are several toilets that are maintained and a great outdoor area for break-time and BBQ's. A great place outside to hang out and chat or take a break from the meeting to eat some food.
Recently the committee has made many changes to the format of meetings and to the club to try bring in more attendees and to keep hobbyists interested. One of these focuses has been bringing younger people into the hobby. Can we bring PCS to schools and get young people interested. This will go hand in hand with being at a high school premise and working with the schools to bring cichlids into the curriculum and hopefully an interest in the aquarium hobby. Part of this focus will include the chance for our club rooms to have an aquarium of cichlids on site. What is better than having an aquarium at the meeting we can all enjoy?
One of the factors many people don't see is the amount of equipment required to be stored and transported by committee members to make meetings happen. Most premises do not allow this. Atwell College has graciously agreed to let us store our items in the club room. This will eliminate the need for us to lug equipment and store it at home upsetting our families. This means the library of books, magazines and DVD's we currently hold can still be enjoyed by members. It also means we can continue such items as Show table competition and keep all the necessary equipment for meetings close by.
The meetings will continue to grow and will be much better than our previous location. We will be giving this an official trial for our upcoming August meeting. This will be our AGM & Auction night. Please make an effort to come check out the new facility and let us know what you think. There will always be concerns involved when moving premise and we want to hear from you.
Please let us know below what you think.
