Melton Men’s Group president Les Chitts has lived in Melton for almost five decades and loves living in the region. Oscar Parry spoke with Les about what he enjoys most about his role with the men’s group and his home town.
What is your connection to Melton?
We’ve lived in Melton 46 years. We still live in the same house – a little 12-square home. We raised our two boys here. I still have my wife and one son at home – he’s autistic. My wife’s name is Dianne and my son’s name is Brett. I was presented with a Victorian Achievement Award in 2023. I was also Citizen of the Year in 2023, and basically, I’ve just been involved with a lot of the charities over the years which I enjoy doing. My main project at the moment is the Melton Men’s Group, which I’m president of.
What do you like about where you live?
I love the area. I love the people. We’re very fortunate, we back onto the creek. You can wake up in the morning to kookaburras singing and ducks walking down the back. We’ve seen them walking on the back fence or the back lane – it’s all grass. I just love the area. It’s nice and peaceful, where we live is pretty safe. We’ve been very lucky – we’ve never had an issue in our court.
What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
I’d like to change the traffic congestion, it’s the old story – the roads aren’t good enough for the amount of traffic that’s on them. But the population has grown so quickly, I don’t think the infrastructure can keep up.
What have you enjoyed most about being the president of the Melton Men’s Group?
Well, the Melton Men’s group has been going seven years, and I’ve been president for six and a half … I think I enjoy the company of other guys, and I think the social benefits of helping people … especially men. It’s a men’s group – we’re looking after men the best we can. We’ve been very lucky with the community helping us … I think the council have been terrific, because without their help – especially in the early stages – we would have never have gotten the group up and running.
What do you hope your group brings to men?
Happiness in later life – a lot of the guys are by themselves now, their families have grown up. We’re just … trying to help guys to enjoy life as they get older and give them a purpose.
