Thank you to the many people who have extended their congratulations to my wife Sally and I on the birth of our first child last week, a baby boy that we have named Elias.
Last Wednesday night The Bellevue Reception Centre held an event to mark their re-opening following substantial renovations to the premises. I was pleased to attend and officially cut the ribbon at the re-opening celebrations. The Bellevue is synonymous with Bankstown and many of our residents have attended celebrations at the venue throughout its history. My congratulations to Sayed Fares and The Bellevue team on this great achievement.
On Friday night I hosted an Iftar Dinner to celebrate the Breaking of the Fast during Ramadan. Thank you to the many religious and community leaders who joined me for this important occasion. During the evening I also made a special presentation and paid tribute to local boxing champion, Billy "The Kid" Dib, who recently became the International Boxing Federation's Featherweight World Champion. Tania Mihailuk MP, Deputy Mayor Allan Winterbottom, Councillors Pam Gavin, Alex Kuskoff and Michael Tadros along with Councillors from Canterbury Council were also in attendance.
Also on Friday night I attended the running of the Bankstown City Council Cup held at the Bankstown Paceway. This annual event is a highlight on the Paceway calendar and I had the opportunity to present the Mayor's Pace Trophy. Congratulations to everyone involved on a great night. Daryl Melham MP, Tania Mihailuk MP, Glenn Brookes MP, Deputy Mayor Allan Winterbottom and Councillors Linda Downey, Pam Gavin, Alex Kuskoff and Ian Stromborg were amongst those enjoying the night of racing. Thank you to Les Bentley, President of the Bankstown Harness Racing & Agricultural Society, for the invitation.
On Saturday evening I attended the Night of Prayer at Greenacre Church of Christ. The event was very well attended and thank you to Pastor George Habib for the invitation.
Later that night I attended a fundraising dinner hosted by The Charity Association of Tannourine and the Harb Charity Association of Australia who had come together to raise funds for the Tannourine Nursing Home in Lebanon. The function was attended by many dignitaries including Mr Jean Daniel the Ambassador of Lebanon, Mr Boutros Harb MP a visiting Member of Parliament from Lebanon, Daryl Melham MP, Barbara Perry MP, Tania Mihailuk MP and Councillors Alex Kuskoff and Naji Najjar.
Thank you to Deputy Mayor Allan Winterbottom for representing me on Sunday at the Sydney Junior Winter Cricket 7th Annual Presentation night held at Bankstown Sports. During the evening, Clr Winterbottom assisted with presenting a number of trophies.