RSL Serving the Community

Members and visitors are warmly embracing the changes taking place within the Leongatha RSL.

New carpet, furniture and a fresh coat of paint, along with the creation of a dedicated memorabilia room are all part of a series of enhancements designed to transform the venue.

There is also a newly updated menu to tempt diners which includes a wide selection of Club classics, seafood, steaks, burgers, pasta, salads and half serves of several popular dishes.

The addition of an automatic glass door between the Bistro and downstairs Dining/Function area (replacing what was a fixed window) has been a simple but effective measure, which has opened up the space and created improved internal flow.

Another new addition is a coffee shop which has been created just inside the entrance to the venue and provides an informal place to relax amongst friends.

The architect behind the improvements is General Manager, Greg Nugent, who commenced in the role in November last year and has quickly put his stamp on the venue.

Greg brought with him considerable previous experience in hospitality and venue management. During the past decade, he has been a former General Manager of both the Mansfield and Maryborough Golf Clubs, and ACT Harness Racing. He has also previously operated his own café in Wollongong.

When the position at Leongatha RSL arose last year, Greg was managing Mansfield Golf Club. He and wife Leanne relocated to Inverloch and are enjoying their new surrounds living by the beach.

“I didn’t know anything about the region but saw the opportunity at the RSL as an ideal match to utilise my skill set,” he observes.

After Greg’s arrival it did not take him long to identify a strategy to help reinvigorate the venue.

General Manager

Greg Nugent

“I could see that the place had become a bit tired in some ways and was in need of a facelift to reinvent itself. Fortunately, I found that our Committee was open to making changes,” he states.

“Growth in clubs like ours comes from how we connect with the community, and we needed to do that better.”

This year has already seen the introduction of a number of initiatives that have generated a real sense of excitement within the venue, including a successful social membership promotion in June which attracted an additional 230 members.

“We incentivised the membership and made people more aware of the benefits of joining,” Greg says.

Friday nights were recently bolstered to become the flagship community night at Leongatha RSL each week and kicked off in July with a full house.

“Every Friday we are now having raffles which we are encouraging community groups to run and take the profits from. We’ve also introduced Joker Poker, a new members’ draw and happy hour drink prices to help make Fridays even more popular here,” Greg explains.

“In conjunction with the launch, we also held a special fuel promotion in partnership with Evans Petroleum which carried a first prize of a $750 fuel voucher to the winner. Our marketing plan is to conduct three of these type of major promotions per year collaborating with different businesses in our community. It’s all part of an overall focus on community engagement.”

A sell-out Fleetwood Mac tribute show in August, combining dinner and the performance, heralded the beginning of an entertainment revival at the venue.

“We intend having one of the dinner shows every couple of months, with the calendar to be interspersed with other entertainment on a regular basis,” Greg promises.