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CEO
Events
AGM, Brisbane – 5 December
When the clock ticked over to 6 December 2015
it marked BUSHkids becoming ‘80 years young’.
Brisbane landmarks were lit up for BUSHkids, with
the Story Bridge, City Hall and King George Square
illuminated in the red, orange, blue and white colours
of the Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health
Scheme in honour of our 80th birthday.
Part of what made this occasion so special was that –
thanks to the
Brisbane City Council
– we held our
79th Annual General Meeting at the same table, in
the same room of Brisbane City Hall, where the first
public meeting was held in 1935 which created the
Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme. What’s
more, on our 80th birthday, Charlie Wilson and his
sister Lesley and their family members attended
to represent the memory of their grandfather, our
founding Patron, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson.
We were also joined by many other dignitaries,
volunteers, staff and members of our
FoBk
groups.
Among the VIP guests as official observers of the
AGM proceedings in City Hall on Saturday evening
were:
• Mrs Jane Prentice MP, Federal Member for
Ryan and Honorary Patron of
FoBk Brisbane;
• Cr Peter Matic, BCC Toowong Ward,
representing Lord Mayor Cr Graham Quirk;
• Cr Judy Peters, Bundaberg Regional Council,
and Chair of
FoBk Bundaberg
.
A special plaque was presented by Charlie Wilson to
Arthur Rosbrook, widower of Betty, one of the many
volunteer Red Cross escort ladies throughout more
than 50 of BUSHkids’ 80 years.
As Matt Tesch wrote in the concluding chapter of our
history book, at that very special and historic meeting
there was a sense of there being many more people in
attendance than were actually visible …
See pages 34 and 35 for some images from that event.
For 80 years BUSHkids has been working to bridge
the ‘great divide’ between city and country to help
ensure that no Queensland child is disadvantaged
simply because of the postcode in which they were
born or live. That mission remains our goal as we
look ahead 20 years to our Centenary in 2035.
Many thanks to all of you, and everyone involved
across the Queensland communities. We appreciate
the many congratulatory and encouraging messages
we have received from you throughout the year.
YanganTreasure Hunt – 17 July
Yangan Progress Association held a ‘Mobile Treasure
Hunt’ to raise funds for BUSHkids Warwick, their
local school and families in need, with 10 families
dressing up and having fun on the day.
BUSHkids Conference – 4-8 July
See page 44 for a full wrap.
Warwick Jumpers & Jazz in July
Once again, BUSHkids participated in the
Jumpers
and Jazz in July Festival
– Queensland’s quirkiest
‘yarnbombing’ and jazz winter festival. The theme for
2016 was ‘Bohemian’ and, with assistance from some
little helpers, the BUSHkids tree was decorated with
dream catchers and other colourful decorations.
TROHPIQ Bowties & Beauties
Charity Gala Ball – 31 July
TROHPIQ celebrated National Rural Health Student
Network’s 21st birthday in style at their annual
charity gala ‘Bowties and Beauties’. The theme of
the evening was the future of rural healthcare and
innovation. BUSHkids Chairman Dr Neil Bartels
delivered an inspiring presentation on BUSHkids, and
TROHPIQ was proud to donate $3,000 to BUSHkids
through money raised on the night and throughout
the year. This marks the fourth year that TROHPIQ
has supported BUSHkids, and we look forward to
many more years of mutual support. Thank you to all
those who came and celebrated with us.
Border Ride, Mount Isa – 30 July
Border Ride is a 200km bicycle ride from Mount
Isa to Cloncurry on the Northern Territory border,
which can be completed individually or in team.
Danica and Carol from our Mount Isa Centre
manned a rest station for cyclists, providing water
and snacks to competitors. It was a fantastic day, the
community really engaged in the spirit of the event,
and some of the riders dressed up as superheros and
the Muppets. BUSHkids received a $1,000 donation
to the Mount Isa Centre – thank you all so much.
Emerald Golf Day – 7 October
Justin Scutt from Enwise Electrical & Refrigeration
and the
FoBk
team demonstrated incredible support
to fundraise for BUSHkids by hosting the Emerald
Golf Day. Justin Benjamin and his team at
Mitre 10
were unbelievable in their generosity and assistance
with selling raffle tickets. BUSHkids OT Jessica Nikles
joined the team of volunteers for the day to assist.
Thank you to all who volunteered and helped on the
day, and to all the teams who enjoyed their game.
Warwick Golf Day – 9 October
Even though bad weather stopped play on the first
attempt on 18 September, the Warwick community
showed their amazing support for a great turnout a
few weeks later. The auction was a big hit with bidders
targeting great sporting memorabilia and unique art
pieces. Once again a big ‘thank you’ to Sandra Head
and Rotary Club of Warwick Sunrise for all their
incredible help with the preparation on the run up
and on the day – Sandra, you are priceless.
Work Health and Safety
BUSHkids addresses this as a core responsibility
of the organisation, and we devote an appropriate
amount of time and resources to ensuring that
our workplaces are healthy and safe for both staff
members and clients.
Council receives a regular report on Work Health
and Safety matters and any incidents that may have
occurred. It regularly examines all the requirements
connected to BUSHkids’ activities to ensure that any
risks are identified and managed.
In accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act,
all our staff are kept informed of their legislated
responsibilities and their opinions are canvassed at
annual staff consultation sessions. Our Maintenance
& Safety Co-ordinator is in regular contact with
staff at our regional Centres to remind them of the
necessity for regular activities such as evacuation
practices and the subsequent reports. He also keeps
a constant watch on physical or structural defects in
any of our properties which may pose risks to the
health or safety of our staff, and any such problems
are immediately addressed.