Guest Speaker—James Carlin, founder of Tooborac Brewery.
Tooborac Brewery. encompasses the Tooborac Hotel, Prince of Wales Hotel, Seymour, Country Club Hotel, Yea and soon to open, Molesworth Hotel.James originally trained in information technology before turning his hand to cheffing and, together with his wife, hotel management.
James spoke of the pros and cons of owning and managing hotels/hospitality venues, having purchased the Tooborac Hotel in 2002 and refurbishing the stables behind the building to create the brewery.
Working in hospitality is hard work, with a huge amount of time and effort going into team building to create a great team who all have the same values and vision to ensure a safe environment for all patrons while ensuring that customer experiences are about creating memories. The hotel industry faces huge challenges with penalty rates, inflation, negative on line reviews, and turnover of chefs. Currently looking to sponsor international chefs to fill positions. All venues are different, with an emphasis on family environment. The Country Club Hotel has a wonderful function room upstairs and has been beautifully restored after suffering from fire. The Molesworth Hotel will incorporate a general store and takeaway facility offering coffee to attract passing traffic, as well as an Axe Throwing Field to add to the
experience of visiting the hotel!Vote of thanks - Tony Jacobs
Three Minute Speaker: Gary Fitzgerald
Gary gave a overview of finance, to date, for Garden Ex-po. Whilst still waiting to receive some invoices to allow finalisation of the event, it shows that Vendor site payments and gate entry are down from 2023. A donation of $2,500 has been received. Currently we have a surplus of $17,374.00 with payments for Security, Skip Bins and Saleyards Hire still to be made.
Surplus for 2023 event was $16,051.00
Gary gave a overview of finance, to date, for Garden Ex-po. Whilst still waiting to receive some invoices to allow finalisation of the event, it shows that Vendor site payments and gate entry are down from 2023. A donation of $2,500 has been received. Currently we have a surplus of $17,374.00 with payments for Security, Skip Bins and Saleyards Hire still to be made.
Surplus for 2023 event was $16,051.00
Thanks to our caterers, Deb Baynes and crew for another delicious meal.