A group of local public hall committees are working together to discuss opportunities to ensures their futures.
An afternoon tea and workshop was hosted by the Neerim District Progress Association for representatives of six local halls including Algie Hall Neerim South, Neerim Memorial Hall, Neerim Junction Hall, Noojee Hall, Rokeby Hall and Jindivick Hall.
The purpose of the workshop was to build a Neerim District Local Halls network in order to work collaboratively on issues facing small rural halls such as programming of events, marketing, maintenance, obtaining funding, sponsorship, community involvement, insurance costs, running costs, and ensuring that the community keeps such valuable assets for their benefit.
Neerim District Progress Association president Lynne Wells, who facilitated the workshop, said local halls were the heart of small communities and vital for providing a venue where the community could get together and enjoy events both public and private and enhance a sense of belonging.
At the end of the workshop the group was asked where they wanted to go from here and it was unanimously agreed the afternoon had been valuable and they wanted to continue to meet every three months.
The next meeting will be held at Neerim Memorial Hall on Sunday, September 17 at 2pm.
Ms Wells will chair the meeting and although the group is not a formal group, it was agreed there is definitely value in having a "Local District Halls Network" made up from representatives of all six hall committees to network, communicate and support each other and further explore joint promotional, programming and financial opportunities.