ONE of Leitchville’s proudest residents says it’s time for him to again lead a group of serving citizens.
Geoff Behrens was recently installed as the Lions Club of Leitchville president for the first time in more than a decade.
The 76-year-old succeeded Peter White, who served three successive terms.
“I’m not new to the caper… it must be my turn again,” Mr Behrens said.
“It’s a fun group to be involved with and through my previous office-bearer roles with the Leitchville Progress Association, the community all works in unison.
“I enjoy working in the community. My wife says to me, ‘stop doing the shire’s work’.”
Mr Behrens beautifies the town by mowing the grass along Cohuna-Leitchville Road and maintaining the popular recreational vehicle rest stop.
“We need more manpower in Lions to transform the disused train station back to its former glory,” he said.
The station’s concrete stumps have recently been replaced, with the walls soon to be repainted.
The Leitchville railway station, which has been transformed into the Lions clubroom, is the only remaining station still standing on the Elmore to Cohuna railway line. It was closed in 1981. “What I do want to see happen as president is the community having one voice when it comes to submitting applications for grants and funding, so that we can apply for a project or initiative that will benefit the majority of residents,” Mr Behrens said.
He said membership continues to decline due an ageing population and the increasing number of other opportunities available to residents.
“We often have joint dinner meetings with Gunbower when the District Governor visits, but we want to keep our own entity as much as possible,” he said.
Mr Behrens is a former fourth generation dairy farmer, but left the industry about 20 years ago due to economic pressures.
