On Friday 24 July, U3A Box Hill members gathered at the RSL to farewell one of our most valued volunteers, Seng Poon. Twenty-four guests came along to celebrate Seng’s long service and to wish him well as he prepares to move to the other side of Melbourne to live closer to his family.
UBH Vice-President Manfred Bartz gave a brief presentation on Seng’s time at UBH. Seng joined us in 2016 and took on the role of UMAS and membership coordinator from 2018, guiding UBH through the changeover from our old MYOB-based admin system to the Network’s UMAS platform. He mastered the system so thoroughly that he soon found himself helping other U3As across the state get up and running with it.
Seng steered our membership operations through the turbulence of the COVID years, when constantly changing public health regulations demanded countless hours of extra, largely unseen work. In quieter times he devoted himself to the smooth running of the office and every aspect of the membership coordinator’s role — from enrolments to the challenges that came with the introduction of paid classes.
Many members will remember Seng’s helpfulness and courtesy in the office at Strabane Avenue over the years. He had a gift for making everyone he dealt with feel welcome, and he consistently understated the effort he put in behind the scenes.
A well-deserved honour
Following the presentation, Susan Webster, UBH’s representative on U3A Network Victoria, announced some wonderful news: Seng has been selected to receive a U3A Victoria Tutor Recognition Award for 2026.
The award will be presented at a ceremony at Parliament House, Melbourne, on Thursday 30 July. It is a fitting recognition of everything Seng has given, not only to U3A Box Hill but to the wider U3A community.
Congratulations, Seng — and thank you for everything. You will be missed, and we wish you all the best for your next chapter.
Farewell to Seng Poon
When I think about what Seng Poon has given U3A Box Hill since he joined us in 2016, one word keeps coming back to me: above and beyond. And I don’t say that lightly.
Seng joined the Committee in 2019, but his real contribution started the year before. Throughout 2018 he took on the enormous job of migrating us off our old MYOB-based admin system and onto the Network’s UMAS platform. He mastered it so thoroughly that before long he was helping U3As right across the state get UMAS up and running, through a Network committee. That’s the mark of the man — he didn’t just learn something well, he turned around and helped everyone else.
No sooner had he settled in than COVID arrived. Seng was thrown straight into the chaos of ever-changing public health rules from the City of Whitehorse. Rooms had to be re-measured for new class limits. Members’ compliance declarations had to be tracked and reported. The regulations shifted constantly, and every change meant hours of extra work — most of it unseen. Seng absorbed all of it and kept us running.
Once things calmed down after 2022, Seng turned his attention to the smooth running of the office and every part of the membership manager’s role — enrolling members, keeping tabs on everyone, and then meeting a whole new set of challenges when paid classes came in.
Now, my own first contact with Seng was in 2022 — he phoned me to offer a refund because a class I’d enrolled in didn’t run. It was such a genuinely positive experience that I stayed a member. So in a very real sense, Seng is the reason I’m standing here at all.
When I took on the IT manager role in 2023, Seng gave me the warmest welcome — and that matters, because IT and the membership system overlap enormously. His enthusiasm was infectious, and working with him was always a pleasure. What struck me most was how he made everyone he dealt with feel welcome.
He also understated everything he did. Working from home, coming in during term breaks to set up courses, printing attendance sheets and name tags, quietly sorting out a hundred small problems — most of us never saw the half of it. He once explained his philosophy to me, and I hope I’ve got this right: “I only agree to do something if I know I can do it well.” And the thing is — he agreed to do a lot.
So, Seng — on behalf of U3A Box Hill, thank you for everything you’ve done. And personally, thank you for making me feel so welcome. We wish you all the best for your next chapter. You will be missed.
Well done, mate. You’re my hero.