By Darren Cartwright
It would be hard to find a busier or better-connected country club president than Melanie Johnson.
When not meeting and greeting sponsors or presenting trophies on race day as Moranbah Race Club president, Melanie is in the stabling area assisting her husband, trainer Bevan Johnson.
Melanie (pictured) manages the Johnson racing stable, which includes local hero Fab’s Cowboy, a winner of 48 of his 129 starts.
“I meet and greet sponsors and show them a personal touch with hospitality and we are also flat out trying to make sure everything runs smoothly,” Melanie said.
“When I get the chance, I duck away to see Bevan and check on the horses and get feedback on how the day has gone."
Like many country presidents, Melanie took on the role because of a lack of candidates although her connections and knowledge of horse racing have been an invaluable resource for the club, which is about 155km south west of Mackay.
Her extensive industry background has also provided the committee with a perspective of the race day requirements of trainers, jockeys and stewards.
“I have been in the fortunate position of being in the racing industry for many years and with strong connections,” she said.
One of the fledgling committee’s greatest achievements was in March when it locked away all sponsorship for 2022, she said.
Not that she’s taking credit for the achievement, only noting that a time-consuming task for a relatively new committee has been put to bed.
“The committee only came together in October last year, but they have been hard-working and diligent,” she said.
“There have been a lot of changes and improvements and achievements in the past few months and for the first time that I know of, or any long-standing committee members know, we have been able to secure annual sponsorship.
“That means prior to our March meeting this year, we had sold out sponsorship for all three meetings.
“It was quite an achievement for the club and provided peace and stability for the remainder of the year and we are not going to struggle from meeting to meeting.”
While Melanie (pictured on the right making a presentation) is the president, she’s far from the only female on the committee.
Five of the eight members are women, including Secretary Bianca Bulst, who is the board’s rock, she said.
“The backbone of the committee is our secretary Bianca, as they are in most clubs, she is extremely hard-working,” Melanie said.
“We’ve worked hard together and as a team and that keeps the committee strong because the committee is just caretakers.
“The club belongs to the community.”
Ideally, Melanie, like all country presidents, would love TAB status for one of their three meetings, which corresponded with some of the biggest race days on the calendar.
Their March meeting was on the same day as the Australian Cup (Flemington) and the Coolmore Classic (Randwick) and their June date corresponded with Stradbroke Day (June 11).
On November 5 they race on the same date as Mackinnon Stakes Day at Flemington.
Image supplied by Samantha Van Der Stoep
The corresponding dates also mean large crowds but finding volunteers for each meeting can be problematic, she said.
“It’s a huge task because it is hard to get volunteers to come on board for race day,” she said.
“Everyone wants to be paid for the day, which we understand, but unfortunately the committee does not get paid and it’s a big job for them.”
The club has had recent acquisitions including a concrete walkway between the member’s bar and public area and a $50,000 tractor following a Racing Queensland grant.
“The walkway was finished in time for our June meeting,” she said.
Overall, her first year in office has been very rewarding and she looks forward to having more women on the committee, if not at Moranbah, then other race clubs.
“I encourage other females to step up or be involved, either as a president or any capacity on the committee because it is rewarding,” she said.
* Moranbah Race Club's next meeting is Saturday, November 5, 2022.