Wednesday 30th of September 2020 saw the official retirement of Mr Hugh Rogers as State President of Seniors Recreation Council of WA. 65 invited guests including past and present WA Government Ministers as well as many CEO’s attended the official recognition of Hugh’s contribution to Western Australian Seniors. “Mr Rogers” as he is affectionately known, began his time with the Council in in 1992 as a volunteer, he came on board to organise an indoor bowls tournament and as they say the rest is history and what a history.
Throughout his service and dedication to SRCWA he has held the roles of, State President, Treasurer, Accredited Volunteer, Mentor and Friend.
Hugh was instrumental in securing core funding and sponsorship to assist SRCWA to develop and produce its wide portfolio. He also played an integral part in developing SRCWA’s Constitution and By-Laws and expanding the Branch network to include eight additional Branches increasing from the Esperance Branch which was the first in the Regional Expansion of SRCWA Program.
He played an integral part in growing a wide range of the programs and events SRCWA have developed and presented over the years.
- Have a Go Day a Live_Lighter Event – SRCWA’s flagship event which has grown exponentially over the years to the magnificent event it is today.
- LiveLighter Seniors Activity Information Days, which commenced as Seniors Impact Days and then became Aboriginal Seniors Activity Days.
- LiveLighter Aged Care Games – designed specifically for Seniors in Care., This program is unique in that it is specifically for seniors living in Aged Care facilities, in their own homes, Care Facilities or attending Senior Centres.
- Tech Savvy Seniors(TSS) – this was a project that Hugh felt passionately about and encouraged SRCWA to adopt in order to upskill many seniors into using Technology and accept it as part of their every day life.
- Seniors Exergaming WA – this program grew out of the TSS program and was very successfully introduced into many seniors homes and retirement villages and centres.
- Annual Seniors Ball – still enjoyed as much today as when it was first introduced in 1999 with approximately 200 people now attending.
- Seniors Forums/Conferences/Indoor Bowls Tournaments/New Horizons program
- Advising many clubs/groups on the process of starting up their club/group.
- One of the more interesting projects Hugh introduced to WA Seniors through SRCWA was the mobile phone program – iNO Mobile Phone. So much was learnt and it was popular at the time. It also resulted in the major telco’s very quickly picking up on the need to introduce senior friendly phones.
- Pole Walking – Hugh was very passionate about this program. In 2006 he brought sets of poles back to WA after attending a Seniors conference in the Eastern States. He demonstrated their use and initiated the program which over the years has grown from strength to strength. Since its introduction, hundreds of WA Seniors have taken up this activity and pole walking groups are still being formed.
- Due to Hugh’s passion and commitment to WA Seniors wellbeing he became well known not only locally but internationally. In March 2011 he was invited as a guest speaker to the First Asia Pacific Conference on Ageing (APCA) in Singapore where Hugh presented a paper on “Healthy Ageing Through Activity in Western Australia”.
Although Hugh has retired as State President he will still be continuing in the role of volunteer bookkeeper.
SRCWA acknowledges and thanks Hugh for his significant contribution and dedication in guiding Seniors Recreation Council of WA to be the well-respected organisation in the community and seniors’ industry sector it has become.
Minister for Seniors and Ageing; Volunteering; Sport and Recreation Hon Mick Murray, Jen Merrigan Have a Go News, Rhonda Parker, Barry Felstead Crown Perth and Duncan Ord Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries gave a wonderful speech thanking Hugh for his dedication and work over the years.
Thank you to all those who joined us in thanking Hugh for his contribution to the Western Australian Community.
Photographs from the event can be found here
A few images from over the years can be viewed here on YouTube