Our new partnership with the Latrobe Performing Arts Centre (in Traralgon) is going great, with members being treated to some excellent performances (for free!). 
Don't forget to come along to our monthly drinks nights at the Cargo Lounge.  Feel free to catch up with the committee at our monthly meetings also.  Details are all on the website.
We are getting more and more friends on Facebook, so make sure you add us as a friend.

We have lots of events in the pipeline for 2008.  Pencil these into your diaries.  And feel free to email us if you have an event suggestion, or even if you want to volunteer to help out.

Sunday July the 13th, our Christmas in July lunch at Wallaby Rise.  It's not too late, email us now.

Friday August the 1st, Ten Pin Bowling at Morwell.  Then we will head out for drinks afterwards.

Wednesday August 20, our AGM.  The elections for the committee will take place.  We will also hear the reports from the Treasurer and the President.  Come along and get involved.  Everyone is welcome.  We will start at 6pm.  The venue is the Kath Teychenne Centre, 11-13 Breed Street, Traralgon.

Early September, probably the 6th, a trip to the snow (Baw Baw).  We will organise a bus so all you need to do is have fun.

In October ...

Last week we celebrated our first birthday with a gathering at the council offices in Morwell (also the venue for our launch a year earlier).  It was a great night with plenty of good (and free) food and drink. 

The group heard presentations from the group president, Robert Billing (me), and several others, including David Mawer, the managing director of Gippsland Water.  David's presentation on leadership was excellent.  Check our our Flickr page (or our Facebook page) for photos.

We have our Christmas in July lunch happening soon (July 13), and our monthly drinks night at the Cargo Lounge is this Friday.

A few weeks back we ran a bus trip to several local wineries.  It was a great day and was naturally enhanced by some excellent beverages.  Thanks to LRH who did most of the organising and allowed our group to join in.

We have had two more groups fly the Young Professionals flag at the Blood Bank.  Thanks to Carolyn for getting a great group together for this worthy cause.  There will be many more of these trips, I'm sure.

Last week we had our Green Planet Dinner.  We had an excellent presentation from GHD about climate change and also watched a video of Al Gore's speech from a recent GHD function.  We also heard from Alesha from WormPlanet who had brought along a worm farm complete with worms.  The night was made carbon neutral and also food neutral (if that is a term) as all the dinner scraps went home with Alesha for her worms.

Photos from the winery trip and Green Pla ...

It was great to see so many people come to our free BBQ last Friday.  We had about 30 people, and at least a dozen new faces.  The food was great, and the free stubby holder was good too!  It did get a bit chilly once the sun got low, so that will be our last after work BBQ until next summer.

We also had a large group go along to LRH to donate blood during last month.  Another group is booked in for May 15th and anyone else interested in coming along should send us a quick email.

We have announced an upcoming event at the Warratah restaurant in Morwell (near McDonalds).  The dinner will be on May the 12th (a Monday) and we will hear an interesting presentation on sustainability and climate change from some local experts.

We have lots of events planned for the coming period, starting with a FREE BBQ on the 28th of this month.  We will soon be announcing details of a dinner with a presentation on climate change issues that will be very interesting.  A winery tour is scheduled for April, and a bunch of other events are lined up for the months after.

I hope everyone got the email with all of the dates for our drinks nights.  We get together at the Cargo lounge (in Traralgon) after work on the first Friday of every month.  Come along and make some new friends, and have a good time.   We are also having an 'extra' drinks night next Friday (the 14th).

If you want to get on our mailing list, or have any questions, email us at info@latrobeyp.com.au.

On Sunday we had around 50 young professionals at our marquee at the Latrobe Valley Cup in Traralgon.  The weather was great, the food was tasty, and the races were exciting.  The ladies were dressed up and we even had some Latrobe YP entrants into Fashions on the Field.  Most people had a few minor wins on the horses, but the main activity was having a good time and getting to know other young professionals.  Photos of the event will be posted tonight.

We wish everyone a happy and safe christmas and new year.  And don't forget the upcoming BBQ in January, and our trip to Phoenix Paintball up at Rawson.

Last night we had our annual general meeting.  Outgoing LYP President Jason Yap presented his report for the year, and we also heard a report from the Treasurer, Emma Standen.  Elections for the committee for the next 12 months were then held.  The new executive committee is - President : Robert Billing, Vice-President : Jason Bilyj, Treasurer : Emma Standen, Vice-Treasurer : Ilana Kosakiewicz, Secretary : Diana Poole, Vice Secretary : Kim Crawford.  We are always happy to talk to people who would like to join the committee, especially people new to the area.