In what was a first for us, our annual general meeting was held via video conference on the 24th September. Whilst the technology itself presented a few challenges for participants, overall, it was an experience worth perfecting for subsequent years.
In 2019 ACWA reached an important milestone: its 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, instead of celebrating our fiftieth year, 2020 will forever be remembered as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and ACWA, like so many organisations, has had to reorganise the way it does business. Staff working from home have continued to provide the quality of service on which we pride ourselves, but sadly many of our fiftieth-year celebrations have been put on hold.
Nevertheless, this year ACWA achieved the largest membership in its history with a 20 percent increase over 12 months. Over 96 community services courses and campuses across Australia are now ACWA accredited and we assess the skills of potential migrants for seven occupations.
On the 24th we also farewelled our outgoing President, Claudia Cunningham. Claudia has made a significant contribution to ACWA having been a member since 1993, a life member since 2014, a board member for 11 years and President for the past six. Not only is Claudia stepping down as President but is also retiring from the board. She has been a fierce advocate of ACWA and the profession, and we will miss her greatly. We wish her every happiness as she moves into the next stage of her very busy life.
The meeting concluded with the announcement of the new board and we were delighted to welcome:
- Nick Toonen, President
- Anne Jennings, Vice President
- Les Stewart, Secretary
- Conrad Townson
- Pam Mitchell D’Costa
- Kerry Staines
- Jacqueline Lahne
You can learn more about the Board members under About section.