Master of Ceremonies for the Eastern Volunteers Annual Fun Run

Like many community based organisations Eastern Volunteers holds events to assist in raising funds to support its volunteer recruitment and community based transport services.

The Annual Fun Run, which is held each March, is one of the major fundraising and community events held by Eastern Volunteers, with the event attracting over 500 participants and significant business support.

Alex as Master of Ceremonies for the Eastern Volunteers Annual Fun Run
Alex as Master of Ceremonies for the Eastern Volunteers Annual Fun Run

This morning I served as the Master of Ceremonies for the event, providing instructions for participants, as well as acknowledging the major sponsors and supporters.

This year’s Fun Run included three major sponsors, who were invited to participate on the day. As the Master of Ceremonies I introduced the major sponsors, as well as Terry Avery, the Mayor of the Yarra Ranges Shire Council and board members from Eastern Volunteers, including the chairperson Terry Macdonald.

Alex with Terry Avery, Mayor the Yarra Ranges Shire Council and Terry Macdonald. Chairperson of Eastern Volunteers
Alex with Terry Avery, Mayor the Yarra Ranges Shire Council and Terry Macdonald. Chairperson of Eastern Volunteers

Fortunately the rain held off until the afternoon, providing ideal conditions for the 2011 Annual Fun Run. The event was a success with a record number of participants and significant support from the business community. As Master of Ceremonies it was my responsibility to direct participants to the registration desks and starting positions, as well as acknowledge sponsors and their support.

At the conclusion of the race I assisted Terry who conducted the formalities and presentation of awards as Chairperson of Eastern Volunteers. I also ensured there was an opportunity for sponsors to speak to the participants, reinforcing the value that business partners received from the event.

Alex with Terry Macdonald, Chairperson of Eastern Volunteers during the presentation of awards
Alex with Terry Macdonald, Chairperson of Eastern Volunteers during the presentation of awards

Eastern Volunteers hold two major community events each year, with the Fun Run being held in March and the Multicultural Festival which will be returning in October.

Maroondah 2010 Business Lunch with Tara Moss

The 2010 Maroondah Business Week was held from the 4th of October through to the 8th and offered a range of events to develop skills and business promotion, concluded with a networking lunch, featuring model and author Tara Moss, as the guest speaker.

The lunch is aimed specifically at women in business and Tara spoke about her life growing up in Canada, as well as her transition into modelling and her development as an author. Tara discussed the need to persevere with dreams and highlighted her passion for writing, which she developed as a student in primary school.

Alex with Tara Moss and Phil Turner, Director City Development, at the 2010 Maroondah Business Lunch
Alex with Tara Moss and Phil Turner, Director City Development, at the 2010 Maroondah Business Lunch

The lunch marks the conclusion of the 2010 Maroondah Business Week and the speech I provided to welcome guests to this event is available within this post:

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Delegates’ Report: Disability Services and Community Partnerships

On the 3rd of September I had the pleasure of attending the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Evening, a football team for people with disabilities, which competes in the Football Integration Development Association (FIDA) league comprising of teams across Victoria.

The Trophy Presentation Evening provides an opportunity to reflect on the Spiders achievements throughout the year, including the formation of a second team and the continuation of their Junior Development Squad, which has seen new members over the past season. In addition, the Ringwood Spiders Cheerleader Squad continues to provide an opportunity for people unable to play football to still support and be a part of the team.

The Ringwood Spiders are eagerly awaiting the 2011 Football Season but have a range of activities planned over the summer months, including lawn bowls organised in partnership with the Ringwood Bowls Club. The Ringwood Bowls Club is one of the many organisations that have formed partnerships with the Ringwood Spiders and it was great to see the Trophy Presentation Evening held once again at the Bowls Club.

On the 9th of September I attended the Spring Formal of the Croydon Special Development School. The school specialises in education for people with disabilities while providing connections with the wider community. The Spring Formal demonstrated the strength of the school’s connections to the wider community, with several students from local high schools being partners to participants in the formal.

It was fantastic to see students from local high schools supporting students from the Croydon Special Development School and I commend each of them for their involvement in the Spring Formal.

On the 15th of September I attended the Eastern Volunteer Business Booster Breakfast, a new initiative of Eastern Volunteers designed to create mutually beneficial partnerships between the business and community sectors. The breakfast included the launch of Friends of EV, a new program which will create partnerships between Eastern Volunteers and the business community. It is worth noting that Eastern Volunteers is a stable organisation that has existed for 30 years, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable and positive outcomes for the community.

Lastly, on the 20th of September I participated in the filming of Monkami’s Drama Group, “Hey Hey It’s Monkami”, the fourth production from the Group. Hey Hey It’s Monkami, is the fourth performance of the group and will be performed on Thursday the 28th of September at the Karralyka Centre.

The Footmen Club – Footy Luncheon with Peter Schwab

The Footmen Club is a service based club supported through the local Maroondah business community, which provides assistance to individuals and groups throughout the municipality.

This afternoon the Footmen Club held a Foot Luncheon, featuring AFL Victoria CEO and former Hawthorn Player, Peter Schwab. Peter spoke about his football career and his experiences as CEO of AFL Victoria. Peter discussed the challenges that were facing Hawthorn at the time and how his abilities in football complemented the team.

The Footmen Club holds regular luncheons through the year featuring a variety of guest speakers while also helping people in need. For further information please visit www.footmen.org.au

Launch of the Victorian Early Intervention Pilot Program

The Victorian Early Intervention Pilot Program (VEIPP) is a youth alcohol diversion program, aimed to assist younger people at risk of alcohol abuse.

The program is a pilot project between Victorian Police, Department of Health, Eastern Access Community Health and Turning Point Alcohol and counselling and diversion programs to prevent ongoing criminal convictions.

The City of Maroondah was chosen as the location for the pilot program due to alarming trends that have emerged with teen drinking within the municipality. While these trends are concerning, it is encouraging that the Police and other organisations are taking a proactive role in trying to reverse these trends.

This morning I accompanied Kieran Walshe, Deputy Commissioner of Victoria Police and Dr Karleen Edwards, Executive Director, Mental Health, Drugs and Regions Division of the Department of Health, in launching the Victorian Early Intervention Pilot Program.

The speech delivered during the proceeds is included within this post:

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Development in Maroondah – Business Networking Event

Maroondah City Council holds regular events for the business community to provide information on Council’s policies and future trends. This evening we hosted an information session on the Ringwood Central Activities District to provide an update on plans for the revitalisation of Ringwood.

As the Mayor of Maroondah, I introduced the session and provided an overview of some of the projects council is initiating within Ringwood to support the Central Activities District.

The session was supported by the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) and included Prue Digby, the Deputy Secretary (Planning and Local Government) of DPCD, who provided the State Government context in regard to activity centres.

Frank Dixon, Maroondah’s CEO and Phil Turner, the Director of City Development, both spoke at the session to discuss Maroondah’s involvement in the Central Activities District, including the preliminary plans for the redevelopment of the Ringwood Aquatic Centre, into a multifaceted leisure facility, as well as the Ringwood Library redevelopment, which will coincide with the Eastland redevelopment.

It is imperative that Maroondah delivers community infrastructure that reinforces Ringwood’s status as a Central Activities District and complements the redevelopment of Ringwood as a sustainable and accessible urban centre.

Opening the Ringwood Telstra Business Centre

This morning I was invited to officially open the Ringwood Telstra Business Centre, located on Heatherdale Road.  The introduction of the Telstra Business Centre reinforces the growing business confidence within Ringwood and provides further local employment opportunities within the municipality.

The launch included a presentation on the future of technology, which highlighted the rapid pace of technological advancement and an increasing emphasis on ‘cloud computing’, whereby data is stored externally in a secure environment.   Technology will continue to be an important part of any business and the Business Centre has a strong emphasis on technological solutions for small and medium enterprises.

Alex opening the Telstra Business Centre in Ringwood
Alex opening the Telstra Business Centre in Ringwood

Over the past five years, Ringwood has experienced a substantial expansion of commercial office space and this is expected to increase further into the future.  The increase in office space ensures that we are better able to provide local employment opportunities, and thus minimise travel costs and commuting time for employees.

The City of Maroondah hosts regular events for the business community, including workshops, seminars and breakfast meetings.  For further details please visit www.bizmaroondah.com.au.

Business Expansion and Retention Program returns for 2010

The Maroondah Business Expansion and Retention Program consists of interviews with business owners and employers to provide quantitative and qualitative research into the challenges facing business within Maroondah.

This afternoon I accompanied the Maroondah Economic Development Unit with the interviews.  The respondents provided  similar feedback in regard to a generally optimistic economic outlook, as well as expressing interest in the business events organised by Council.

The feedback compiled during the Business Expansion and Retention Program will assist Council in updating its Economic Development Strategy to ensure that it is relevant to the needs of the business community.