Last Thursday, Bendigo Community Bank Home Hill and Ayr celebrated 20 years of serving the community by doing what they do best: serving the community.
The two-decade milestone was marked by a well-attended special event at the Burdekin Theatre, which saw grants totalling $65,000 awarded to five deserving organisations across the Burdekin.
“The whole idea of a Community Bank is to provide banking services to our communities, to generate profits, and to then distribute those profits back into those same communities,” said Chairman Darren West.
“This has only been made possible by the support of our Home Hill, Ayr and Bowen communities, and those people and organisations who decided to bank with us.”
Reflecting on the journey from concept to cornerstone, West shared how far the bank had come since its earliest days.
“We opened in 2005 with a portfolio of $11 million,” he told the crowd. “Today, our book stands at $251 million. That didn’t happen overnight—it happened because people believed in the idea and backed us.”
He also recalled the bank’s very first act of giving back. “Our first contribution to the community was in 2008—just $1,075. We were so chuffed,” he said. “Now, we’ve distributed over $1.5 million across the region.”
The event also saw Special Guest Speaker David Robertson, Chief Economist and Head of Economic and Markets Research at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank take the stage, providing guests with valuable market information, including Australia's financial position amongst other global powerhouses and global forecasts for the coming year.
The event signified a momentous milestone, not only for Bendigo Community Bank, but also for the Burdekin as a whole.
Jan Stirling, Paul Benvenuti, Con Christofides, Robyn Haller
Zack Campbell, Elisha Barker, Sean Doyle, Max Musumeci, Bruce Berruti
Susan Catanzaro, Dave Catanzaro, Greg MacElroy
Gloria Vass, Cailin Gosling, Kate Casswell
Paula and John Mottin
The two-decade milestone was marked by a well-attended special event at the Burdekin Theatre.
The event also saw Special Guest Speaker David Robertson, Chief Economist and Head of Economic and Markets Research at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank take the stage
Natalie Saroglia and Ross Romeo of CORES Queensland with their grant award
Burdekin Chaplains pictured with their recent grant
Representatives from the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre with their grant
Burdekin Community Association members with their awarded grant
The Burdekin Men’s Shed proudly displaying their grant award
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