Message from the President April 2025
- soerassociation
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
Good afternoon SOER Association Members,
It has been some time since I have reached out to you, and I wanted to take this opportunity to provide an update on several key Association activities and initiatives as we lead into the important ANZAC Day commemoration period.
ANZAC Day 2025
First and foremost is ANZAC Day 2025. The Association is coordinating and/or involved in several key activities this year and I encourage everyone to reach out to your local State representative to confirm the SOER catchup locations.
- North Bondi. The Association will be joining Unit members and their families at the traditional North Bondi RSL Service at Bondi Beach. Our Families of the Fallen will be in attendance as will a strong Unit veteran / families group. If you are in the Sydney area please make your way to North Bondi to commemorate the day. Service commences at 6am and is followed by early-access to the Club. POC is Catherine [email protected]
- Canberra March. The Association, through Kris Eyles, has been granted permission to march in the Canberra ANZAC Day Veterans March under our own banner. It is a significant event at the iconic Australian War Memorial and I commend the ACT Rep for his effort in making this happen for the SOER / IRR Veteran community. If you are in the Canberra area please make your way to the AWM for a 0930h March. POC is Kris [email protected].
- Brisbane / Melbourne. Both the Brisbane and Melbourne Reps are engaged with local activities including the SASR and Commando State Association gatherings. If you are in Melbourne or Brisbane please reach out to Steve [email protected] or Phil [email protected]
- SA/WA/All. There will be ANZAC events in all states and I would encourage everyone to reach out via State reps and/or in your local network to make sure we make the most of this important day with families and friends.
I wish all Serving, Veteran and Family members a meaningful ANZAC Day 2025, and I thank everyone for their commitment and Service to our Nation – Lest we Forget.
Strategy Meeting
The Committee conducted its first deliberate Strategy meeting on 29/30 March this year to develop initiatives that better align the organisation with the needs of its Serving, Veteran and Family Members. A newsletter will provide specific detailed information on each initiative, but the key outcomes were as follows:
- Increased relevant engagement with the Serving members of SOER. We have maintained a presence with the Unit since our inception, however, we recognise that we need more regular engagement with specific outcomes that benefit the Serving members and their families. Included in this are re-energised Serving / Veteran member events (eg Ball, Unit functions); physical and financial contribution to Unit / Serving member activities (eg Axe & Shield improvements, sponsored trips, history consolidation); and improved spouse / family support (eg support advocacy, family focussed activities and education).
- Improved State / Regional Engagement & Communications with the Veteran community. The Association has generally focussed on Sydney-based physical engagement and occasional State based activities. We’ve also used generic social media platforms as our primary communications means. The re-focus will be on deliberate State / Regional engagement with our Veterans and their families, building upon initial activities in Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide; and deliberate communications via select structured and regular processes. The engagement will include a program of activities in State and Regional areas; new initiatives for Veteran networking throughout all areas; and developing regional centres for support. Communications will involve deliberate quarterly Newsletter updates (on all platforms) containing useful general and specific event, services and support information; and smarter linkages to professional services and support resources through our communications.
- Membership and Fund-Raising. The Association has previously relied on the Commando Welfare Trust for financial assistance for significant individual support matters; and on some small (albeit generous) donations with ad-hoc Membership fee payment to assist with basic support financing. We intend to conduct some deliberate fund-raising activities; and to re-energise Membership fees under a new and more effective structure. This should allow us to provide financial assistance to broaden the opportunities available for our Members and their families. That said, we will maintain the important relationship with CWT for matters that require significant funding support.
- History. The Association has been involved with the Australian War Memorial over the past 18months – contributing our Unit’s part to the new AWM upgrade initiative. We have offered personal experience, artefacts and some fact-checking through several of our experienced members. Whilst we continue to assist the AWM, we also intend to embark on a simple and useful historical capture of the Unit and its key events since 1999. We will be reaching out to all Members to contribute to this important initiative.
- Membership Survey. The Association will be distributing a survey to all Members to ensure that we are meeting the needs and expectations of the Membership. It will be a simple response, and I would ask everyone to take the opportunity to complete it to ensure your requirements are met by the organisation.
2025 Committee Members
There are several new Members to the SOER Association Committee. I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank them for their commitment and support; and to also provide their details to the Membership for contact, support and networking purposes.
Title & Member | Contact |
Patron – Mr John Hopman | (via President) |
President – Mr Scott Corrigan | |
Vice-President – Mr Yarran McGeachie | |
Secretary – Mr Ed Sisson | |
Treasurer – MAJ Jitendra Khatri | |
Communications – Mr Chris Hawkes | |
History – Mr Shane Potter | |
Membership – Mrs Catherine Brookes | |
Tech & Innovation – Mr Scott Coleman | |
NSW Rep – Mr Richard Hingston | |
QLD Rep – Mr Phil Grazier | |
VIC / TAS Rep – MAJ Steve Bennett | |
ACT Rep – CAPT Kris Eyles | |
SA / NT Rep – Mr Ryan Meyer | |
WA Rep – Mr Adam Riley |
I would also like to personally thank Dave Long for his commitment as the Communications lead over the last 5years. It was his energy as CO that created the intent to establish the Association, and he has remained a committed and loyal Unit and veteran supporter since that time.
In closing, please let the Association know (via Survey or other) what you as the Members and Families of the SOER Association would like from us. We have a great group of people in the Committee and broader Membership, and we should be supporting each other at every opportunity in the best way/s possible.
Sincerely
Scott Corrigan
President
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