MY WYNDHAM: Tony Weldon lived all over the western suburbs before coming to Point Cook six years ago. In that time, he’s become the longest serving member of the Point Cook Lions Club.
What is your connection to Wyndham?
We moved from Yarraville to Seabrook in 1987 … we did what most young couples do and headed [further] out to the suburbs to build something bigger. We were in Seabrook for about 10 years and then we moved to Altona Meadows, and moved from there to Point Cook about six years ago.
I love Point Cook, it’s a great community. It amazes me, and I often say to people, that for a suburban setting, there’s a lot of country-town feel about it in the way the population there are able to connect with each other and jump on board with a lot of community causes.
Tell me about your family.
I’ve been married for 40 years. I met my wife Janice when we were working at Myer in the city together. She had been working there for some time … I met Janice on my first or second day and we sort of clicked and got married pretty quickly after that – about six months later.
It was a whirlwind courtship. A lot of people were very surprised, but it seemed right and it’s stood the test of time.
We’ve got two children, a daughter who has two children and a son who lives with us, he has Aspergers, and he works for me as well.
You’re the longest-serving member of the Point Cook Lions Club. Why did you join?
I’ve been a lion for about 20 years. When we moved to Seabrook both of my kids had grown and the sports and girl guides had all passed, and I was at a bit of a loose end. I was at a function for work and somebody handed me a brochure about Lions. I put it in my desk drawer and about 12 months later, I pulled it out of the drawer and decided to see what it was all about. When we moved to Point Cook, I made the switch from the Altona Meadows branch.
Why is it so important for you to give back to your community?
I’ve been a lucky person, had a great life, I’ve got healthy children, I live in a good country. You see that it’s not as easy for everyone else. You have to give something back, you have to. You never know when it’s going to be your turn, so you pay it forward.
