Celebrating our People : 2017 Twenty Year Club Inductions

By: Michael Lynch - Tobin Brothers Funerals
Tuesday, July 4, 2017

If anyone had suggested to me back in the 1980s that I would eventually swap my career as a radio announcer/journalist for work in the funeral industry, I would probably have said “You must be joking”.

But after 31 years in both commercial and non-commercial radio that’s precisely what I did. Two years as Journalist-in-Charge at SBS Radio had left me feeling somewhat disenchanted and jaded with the broadcast medium and so on learning that Tobin Brothers Funerals was in the throes of hiring an in-house celebrant to promote a new type of funeral service, I applied.

At the time I joined the company in February 1997, I could have counted on one hand the number of funerals I had attended in my life and I had certainly played no part in their presentation. In many respects becoming a funeral celebrant was a giant leap into the unknown although being able to draw upon my broadcast experience as a writer, interviewer and public speaker certainly stood me in good stead.

The 24th February 2017 marked the end of my 20th year with Tobin Brothers and in recognition of that milestone I was honoured by being inducted into the company’s Twenty Year Club at the Eureka 89 Restaurant on the 2nd June. Also honoured that evening were my fellow inductees, Peter Hadaway; Fran Webber; Damian Radford and Frank Hynes.

Established by the late Leo J Tobin, the criteria for club membership is simply that you need to have worked for Tobin Brothers Funerals and/or The Amalgamated Casket Company for a period of 20 years. When the club held the first of what are annual dinners, there were 14 founding members: Leo J Tobin; Alf Ellis; Brian Riley; Bruce Austin; Des Tobin; Eddie Reichelt; Frank Jackson; Geoff Tobin; Jim Ruth; Kevin Tobin; Michael Tobin; Norm MacLeod; and Phonse Tobin.

Today, the club membership stands at 91, some of whom sadly, are no longer with us.

 

Leave a comment
Name*:
Email:
Comment*:
Please enter the numbers and letters you see in the image. Note that the case of the letters entered matters.

Comments

Please wait

Previous Posts

Introducing our #SayItNow Ambassadors for 2024

#SayItNow 2024 Ambassadors #SayItNow returns in 2024 as Victorians join the conversation to celebrate the important people in their lives. #SayItNow is an annual initiative of Tobin Brothers Fune...

#SayItNow Returns for 2024

#SayItNow returns for 2024 #SayItNow returns in 2024 as Victorians join the conversation to celebrate the important people in their lives. Victorians young and old are being encouraged to celebra...

Celebrating the Life of Father Gerard Dowling OAM DE

Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE  (1932-2023) Fr Gerard was a close friend of Tobin Brothers, a tremendous writer, radio host, qualified counsellor and a Catholic Priest to the Archdiocese for 65 yea...

Father Gerard Dowling OAM DE celebrates 50 years on radio!

On Sunday 3rd September 2023, Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE celebrated a wonderful milestone of 50 years on Sunday evenings on the radio.   It was in 1973 that Fr Gerard first hosted his first ra...

Rosebud Q&A session: Pre-Paid and Pre-Arranged Funerals

  Have you ever wondered what is involved with pre-arranging a funeral? You are invited to a Q&A: Pre-Paid and Pre-Arranged Funerals to assist you in making an informed decision and to...

Introducing… Tough Times from the Heart

Introducing… Tough Times from the Heart Tobin Brothers Funerals has joined forces with SPAN CV to bring greater awareness to suicide prevention. 3144 Australians died by suicide in 2021, accordin...

Celebrating Father Gerard Dowling

  Today we would like to pay tribute to Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE. In recent weeks he celebrated his 90th birthday and also the 49th anniversary of him being on air with the Family Counsellor...

Christmas Message 2021

  In 2020, they said it was a year that we will remember, we can add 2021 to that also. Back-to-back unforgettable years. The last two years have challenged us all in so many varied ways, an...

Escape from Neil’s Wheel: Good Friday Appeal Fundraiser

  Victoria’s Good Friday Appeal, is one of the most important annual events in the state, raising funds to enable The Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne to provide world class care for ...

The loss of an infant or child

From the first dream… From the first moment we dream of them, our babies and children matter. They become part of the very fabric of who we are. All our children, birthed or dreamt of, alive or de...