2013/14 Annual Report
2013/14
Annual Report
2013/14 Annual Report
Contents
Our Vision……………………………………………
Our Values & Approach……………………………
Our Social Impact……………………………………
Finance Summary…………………………………...
President’s Report……………………………………
Secretary’s Report……………………………………
Chief Executive Officer’s Report……………………..
Endeavour Group Australia
363 High Street Maitland NSW 2320
www.endeavourgroup.org.au
ABN: 83 000 729 537
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2013/14 Annual Report
“Endeavour walks beside me as an
equal. They believe in me, which
empowers and inspires me to choose
my own journey”
Our Vision
Creating a community where there are not “people with disabilities”
rather, people living with choice, opportunity and a sense of belonging.
Our Distinctiveness
We offer individuals a chance to be part of a family, a community,
where we work together to support, achieve, grow and strengthen
our abilities and our resilience, whilst creating opportunities.
Individuals become part of a supportive community fostering
growth, achievement and independence.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Our Values and Approach
We will:
Be adventurous, energetic and smile!
Take the time to laugh, smile and embrace the energy and passion of ourselves and others. Create
opportunities to enjoy doing what we love. Celebrate our strengths and achievements together.
Be dynamic
Embrace change. Identify what needs to happen or be achieved and respond. Ask questions, push
boundaries. Give it a go. If it’s not working, try again or try something different.
Grow and learn
Search for opportunities and be excited by challenges. Know that we all have more potential than we
realise and celebrate this. Know that while we may not get it right every time, we know that great
things come from trying, adapting and accepting life’s challenges.
Respect people
Be honest and transparent. Celebrate diversity. Value contribution. Voicing concerns and feedback is
encouraged and addressed.
Know that together we can achieve more
Be a collaborative, supportive team. Speak up, be heard and respect differing opinions. Reward and
recognise achievement. We care about each other as members of our family. We support change and
value feedback. We are passionate, humble and positive. We encourage our team members to step
out of their comfort zone.
Deliver WOW!
Be accountable - follow through. Develop resilience. Be optimistic. Dare to be different and challenge
the norm. Think outside the square. Do more….with less.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Our Social Impact
Original Endeavour Employees Retire
When Endeavour started in 1968 a group of young people began a
journey that has continued for four and a half decades. Five of our
employees who commenced work at Endeavour in those early years,
celebrated their retirement on January 16th.
Richard was among the first employees in 1968 who carried out a
variety of jobs such as recycling cardboard and packing oysters. In
January 1969, Dianne commenced as an administration assistant
and has served in that capacity for the past 45 years .
Marilyn, Lance and Steve joined the Endeavour team in the 1970s
and, along with Richard, have spent much of their time at Endeavour
working in the Laundry.
Marilyn, Steve, Richard, Lance and Dianne
In appreciation of their years of service, employees and directors of Endeavour gathered to acknowledge the contribution
that they have made to the organisation. Many spoke of the privilege it has been to work alongside them.
David Cagney Retires
In April this year, David Cagney, one of our employees at the
Weston Warehouse retired after over 10 years with Endeavour.
Operations Coordinator David Gray, David Cagney
and Social Enterprises Manager Nicole Dunn
David has been a valued and dedicated member of our team
at Weston and will be greatly missed. To celebrate David’s
contribution to our organisation, a BBQ was held in his honour
on the 29th May which was attended not only by our current
team members but also by those who have worked here with
David in years past, as well as visitors who work across other
departments of Endeavour. David was presented with a
Certificate of Appreciation for his long-standing service to the
company by Nicole Dunn, Social Enterprises Manager.
Blue Heeler Film Festival Entry
Muswellbrook Client Programs Coordinator, Sally Pereira,
spent a day experiencing what it is like to move around town
in a wheelchair.
She was accompanied by Brad Keegan, an Ability Links
Coordinator. The event at the time was filmed by Vivienne
Hughes, who was at the time Endeavour’s Communications
Officer.
The short film called “Going Places” was entered in the
Muswellbrook Shire Council’s Blue Heeler Film Festival and
screened in the open division film event at Muswellbrook
Regional Arts Centre on Tuesday 15th April. “Going Places”
won first place in this division.
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Brad and Sally
2013/14 Annual Report
Our Services—Community Participation
Endeavour Group Coffee Shop
This year a group of Clients from our
Muswellbrook Community Programs
gathered together at Willows Restaurant in
the Muswellbrook District Workers Club to
learn barista skills and assist in running a
coffee shop.
Through their participation in the coffee shop,
many of our Clients built workplace skills and
helped to raise funds for future resources, as
well as a trip to Luna Park in Sydney.
The initial coffee shop was a huge success,
raising over $1000 and providing a positive
Our Endeavour team with Mark from Willows Restaurant
start for the coffee shop to open once a month. Each client left the day with a feeling of self-worth,
achievement and acceptance within the local community, as well as developing their knowledge about the
hospitality industry.
Endeavour Group Australia would like to thank Mark Hawkins from Willows Restaurant and Scott Bailey from
Muswellbrook District Workers Club for their support and generosity in assisting in making the Endeavour
Coffee Shop a success.
ILSI—Independent Living Support Initiative
Kim is one of our newest tenants living at Endeavour’s
King Street Villas.
Kim works at Weston wine packing one day and attends
Community Programs for the other four days each week.
He enjoys walking, going to the gym, playing soccer,
going to church and attending social outings.
Kim was previously living at home with his parents. He
expressed a desire to move into a place of his own. With
the help of his parents and Endeavour, Kim has been
able to successfully move into his own unit with drop-in
support from Endeavour staff.
Kim is also enjoying the independence that comes from living at the units as well as the social aspect
associated with it. He has made many new friends and has been learning new skills in areas such as cooking
and cleaning. Kim also takes great pride in maintaining his garden. This has been a wonderful achievement for
Kim and his family.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Our Services—Community Participation
Reach for the Stars
Disability Athletics Carnival
On Friday 12th September a group of our
Clients and staff attended the Reach for
the Stars Disability Athletics Carnival in
Blacktown, Sydney. The theme of the
event was “Mad Hatters Tea Party” with
each disability service provider creating
their own banner to proudly display
around the athletics track.
It was a fantastic day, giving our Clients
the chance to compete in different
events against other groups from
different service providers such as the
100m sprint, manual and electric
wheelchair races, the 400m marathon
as well a range of novelty events.
Luke, Cameron, Gina, Danny and Michael
Participation in the day assisted our Clients in building self confidence and strengthening personal
relationships. Each client left the day with feelings of self-worth and achievement.
We had some excellent results achieved
on the day, including a 1st place in the
100m sprint from Cameron, 2nd place
for Gina and Beth in the electric and
manual wheelchair race and a 3rd
place for Luke in the 400m marathon.
Well done to all Services Users who
participated in the events on the day
and thank you to the staff who
attended and made the day possible.
The Endeavour team banner
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2013/14 Annual Report
Our Services—Community Participation
Maitland Community Programs
Maitland Community Programs started the
year by getting their groove on with
Performability. This weekly session
incorporates dance, stretching, teamwork,
coordination, fitness and lots of laughter into a
program loved by all every week!
The Conservatorium of Music has been a huge
support in assisting our clients in choir, building
towards some goals of becoming singers, and
also making their very own green screened
DVD. They will be showcasing their live
performance at the beginning of November for
their loved ones and the community.
Kirkwood’s Karate has been a fantastic opportunity for our clients to learn self defence, as
well as building self confidence. This has been
a major part of our clients lives and has even
The green screen at The Conservatorium of Music
landed an article in the local paper. Safety awareness
sessions have been both educational and fun. The local
NSW Rural Fire Brigade provided a presentation with
interesting facts, as well as a demonstration of the fire
truck siren. During another safety session, our local
ambulance service shared practical demonstrations and
interesting information on first aid.
Where to from here? Funky Foliage is a new program,
which is about to take over our community. Our clients
have potted different types of plants that they will sell to
local businesses and be maintained for a small fee. This
will support our clients integrating into the community
and open many new opportunities and networks.
Endeavour is also collaborating with other services in the
Hunter to put on a musical performance of “Grease” at
the end of 2014.
Spotlight Rutherford have been supportive in assisting
and donating props and costumes. They will also be
hosting a special Christmas craft group at their store, to
assist in teaching our clients the fine motor skills of
creating Christmas products. These craft products will be
sold at local stores by our clients, to help raise money for
our programs.
Christmas craft with Spotlight Rutherford
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2013/14 Annual Report
Our Services—Transition to Work
Transition to Work Program
Over the past year, many of our clients have
achieved their goal of obtaining various work
experience opportunities. Some of these have
resulted in an extension for a longer period of
time, Open or Supported employment or
assisted the individual in identifying new
employment goals.
Our programs assist the development of the
individuals Independent Living Skills and many
clients have shown massive achievements.
These include independently travelling on
public transport, enhancing cooking skills such
as reading recipes, following instructions,
grocery shopping and cooking, as well as
money handling and budgeting skills.
To support our participants reach their goals of
expanding on their communication and social
skills, a volunteer speech pathologist attends
programs once per week. They assist in speech
development and reading skills, in a one on
one setting.
One of our client’s has recently reached his
goal of obtaining his provisional licence, as well
as purchased his first car. This exciting
achievement has provided the client the
opportunity to independently travel to and from
his casual position in open employment and
work experience.
‘Perk-Up X-Press’ is an exciting service, run
entirely by our Transition to Work participants.
This initiative includes accessing the local
community to take coffee orders from
businesses, as well as placing the coffee order
at cafés both via telephone and face to face.
The participants then pick up the completed
orders and return them to the customer. This is
for a small donation of 50c per cup to go
towards new resources for our programs. So
far our coffee run has raised over $200!
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2013/14 Annual Report
Access Industries Graduation
The supported employees who work in the
laundry at Access Industries, Lithgow,
completed their training with our Trainer Chris.
Seven students attained the full qualification in
Certificate II Laundry Operations, and fourteen
students attained Statements of Attainment for
various Units of Competence.
Initially the training was deferred for three
months due to the bush fires in Lithgow, and
regrettably, a month later, their laundry was
devastated by fire.
The supported employees were then allocated
work in various laundries within the region,
including Bathurst.
Access Industries Graduation
Fragile X Syndrome Presentation
This year Kimberly Pyne provided multiple informative presentations to
ADHC staff members at their Newcastle and Maitland offices. In her
presentations, spoke to some Certificate 3 students, as well as groups
of Endeavour supervisors.
Kimberly raised awareness of Fragile X syndrome and discussed her
learning style, her processing of the sensory environment and the
anxiety management strategies that she uses. The feedback received
on Kimberly’s talk was extremely positive.
Muswellbrook Coffee Run
Our Muswellbrook service has also
been running a weekly coffee run with
clients visiting local businesses, taking
their coffee orders and delivering the
back to the business.
Endeavour Coffee Runners!
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2013/14 Annual Report
Social Enterprises—Laundry
Angela achieves new work skills
Angela Sampson has been a long-term employee
with Endeavour in the laundry. Under the
guidance of her Support Worker, Sarah Colley,
Angela has obtained many new work skills this
year. Angela now works with minimal supervision
on the towel machine, the C-Flex, Ironer and the
Flat bed ironer. She also empties the dryers and is
learning to sort the dirty linen. These are all newly
acquired skills with which she undertakes
diligently and are critical components to laundry
Angela Sampson
production. Angela also went on her first linen delivery into the community. Angela’s Support Worker and
Laundry Assistant Sarah Colley highlights the important role Angela plays in the linen service; “Angela
always applies a great deal of care and commitment to her work. Here in the laundry, we are all so
extremely proud of Ange and what she has accomplished this year. I look forward to continuing to work
closely with Ange and explore other areas for her to learn and grow”.
Leanne learns to use Key Word Sign
This year a group of Endeavour staff attended training in the
different forms of communications used to augment
communication. One of these forms is Key Word Sign
(previously known as Makaton). Key Word sign is a form of
augmentative communication useful for those who have
limitations in their verbal communication skills. Leanne Edgeton
who works in the laundry has been learning to use Key Word
Sign under the guidance of her Support Worker, Sarah Colley.
This is a great strategy to use in a work situation where it may
be inappropriate to use devices or pictures for communication.
We always have our hands with us when we work, so this
means we can always use our hands to assist with our
communication. Our hands don’t run out of battery charge
either, so they’re always ready. Leanne and other laundry
employees have fun learning the signs together.
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Leanne Edgeton
2013/14 Annual Report
Social Enterprises—Laundry
Supported Linen Delivery
On Friday’s, our Endeavour Linen Service run a supported
linen delivery. Each week, a different supported employee
accompanies their Endeavour supervisor delivering the
weekly linen to local providers such as the Cessnock Motel,
Cumberland Motor Inn and the Vintage.
The linen delivery is an excellent opportunity for our
supported employees to see the final product of their hard
work each and every week. Employees also get the chance
to meet and interact with our customers. The delivery
reinforces a sense of achievement amongst our employees
who get the chance to see how their weekly efforts are
making a positive impact on our local community.
Multi—Media Learning
Community Programs Newsletter
This year, a group of our Community Programs clients
formed a Multimedia group to create a Community
Programs Newsletter. The newsletter is a chance for our
Clients to contribute their ideas and create articles
based around their own interests and hobbies.
Our Multimedia group began with only three of our
Cessnock members Dannilee, Sean and Douglas, but
over time has expanded and we now have participants
from our Muswellbrook and Maitland services.
The newsletter has allowed the clients to expand their
skills in researching and writing, as well as learning
about the editing process that is involved in the
completion of a final project. This includes building skills
in the areas such as spelling, grammar and creating
drafts.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Social Enterprises—Warehouse
During the past twelve months a number of
new supported employees who have been
employed to work on the Endeavour
production line have increased their job
skills to a level that has enabled them to
work alongside Wine Selectors’ staff
unsupported. We now have seven
Endeavour Employees learning new skills
alongside staff from Wine Selectors.
This partnership with Wine Selectors has
provided our employees the opportunity to
increase their confidence and vocational
skills, affording them a better chance to
gain employment in the open labour force
in the future.
The work they are now doing is of a more
technical nature, requiring a higher level of
Jack Edwards, Josh Stacey and Rosie Glendenning
cognitive and literacy skills, concentration and attention to detail than is required on the Endeavour
production line at present.
Supervisors, David, Kellie and Ray are very proud of the achievements of these employees and look
forward to being able to continue to work with both these and our other employees in providing further
training in warehousing job skills, social networking opportunities and to increase their confidence,
independence and sense of self-worth.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Social Enterprises—Property Care
Lake Macquarie City Council
and
Endeavour
Group
Australia
Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC) Depot
Works have been an advocate of Disability
Services providing cleaning employment
opportunities to people living with a
disability for over 18 years.
When the first team of Endeavour
Supported Employees went to LMCC Depot
Works to work, they worked in a group and
the council area was very small.
As the council grew, so did the skills of our cleaners. They learnt to work together in pairs and to cover more
areas within the same time frame. They always delivered the highest quality work. New buildings continued
being built and the cleaning areas grew larger and larger, until our team now clean an area of 1424 square
meters with 5 supported employees, 5 nights a week. It must also be acknowledged that many of our staff
recently completed their Certificate II in Cleaning Services, making them now qualified cleaners.
The LMCC have been instrumental in the continued health and wellbeing of our people in so many ways.
Not only through providing them with meaningful work, but also the interaction with Council staff and the
friendly manner in which our team members have always been accepted into an almost open-employment
environment.
Building Services Manager Mick Gray and the Site Manager Paul Feighan have been a constant support for
Endeavour and our employees. They both ensure that our work is meaningful, and both Mick and Paul are
always encouraging and praising our employees for the high quality of work they achieve.
The Director of Operations Amanda Colby often goes out of her way to make a visit and say hello to the
guys, reminding them that her door is always open to them.
Civil Lake Mechanics are the people we work with the most and our staff have formed strong friendships
with many of them. Thank you to all Civil Lake staff for their genuine interest and support of our team. It is
the commitment from organisations like Lake Macquarie Council that provide such wonderful, rewarding
employment opportunities, providing independence and a sense of self worth for people living with a
disability.
Thank you also to the Cleaning Team who all have fantastic attitudes and who put 100% effort into each
and every job.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Finance Summary
Income $m
2013/14
2012/13
Government Subsidies
3.98
3.11
Government Grants
-1.70
1.73
Sales of Goods
3.26
3.14
Rental Income
0.51
0.55
Fundraising Income
0.01
0.01
Interest Income
0.10
0.08
Other Income
0.17
0.15
Total Income
6.33
8.77
2013/14
2012/13
Employee wages, salaries etc
5.71
4.58
Rental expenses
0.55
0.38
Depreciation
0.65
0.62
Other Expenses
1.58
2.11
Total Expenditure
8.49
7.68
2013/14
2012/13
-2.16
1.09
Income By Division
2013/14
2012/13
Social Enterprises
4.10
3.91
Disability Services
3.14
2.36
Administration
-0.91
2.50
6.33
8.77
Expenditure $m
Results $m
Net loss/surplus
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2013/14 Annual Report
Chief Executive Officer’s Report
Many CEO reports are full of facts and figures - the bottom line, the revenue generated, projected
profits and projects. We have not had a good year financially for a number of reasons so I will not
dwell on this; suffice to say that the staff are working very, very hard to turn things around and I am
confident that we will achieve this. I would rather communicate with you about the spirit of
Endeavour and where we are heading.
Endeavour is privileged to have in our ranks a group of talented, resilient and loyal people who
have withstood the disappointments of the last few months and turned their focus to the future. It is
now more important than at any time in our history for people to really put their minds to changing
the world in which we live.
We need everyone in our organisation to live our new motto and the concept of staff and clients
working in partnership. Every day we see some fabulous examples of this such as our micro
business activities like the Muswellbrook Endeavour Coffee Shop and Maitland Perk-Up Express
Service.
Our staff are becoming more and more inspirational as they leave behind old paradigms of service
and start to think well outside of the square. While this is going on we also need to operate under
much tighter financial constraints as the funding models change with the new NDIS world order.
Everyone will have no other choice but to embrace all of the new ways of disability – inclusion,
independence, individual options and person centred service delivery.
We have thought quite a bit about how we want Endeavour to be perceived in the “disability
market”, particularly as big private players enter what is now being seen under NDIS as a potential
new and lucrative marketplace. This disability marketplace now exists because mainstream
services have not had the courage, foresight, systems or funding to support a true social model of
disability, and government services have been drastically underfunded for many years.
This social model of disability which underpins much of the rising disability activism in our society is
based on the belief that society should change to take into account the needs of people; whether
this be physical access, education or services that enable people with disabilities to go about their
lives in the same way that others in our society do.
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2013/14 Annual Report
Our view is that Endeavour is a community in which people can not only join to access a range of
services and opportunities, but also be an active part of. We don’t think that larger organisations,
be they for-profit or not-for-profit will be able to have the same level of community that we have
been able to grow over the last nearly 50 years. It is our goal to enhance the concept of community
we already have and make this the foundation of our distinctiveness in the marketplace.
Many small organisations will not survive the change to the NDIS and with them will go that close
connection that has been made over years with clients, employees and families.
Disability support will become a commodity where connection, relationship, kinship and communal
spirit are no longer considered important. We are determined not to succumb to this ethos.
While we understand the need to move away from old “centre-based” models of support and
“sheltered workshops” we still need to be aware of the positive impacts of these communal style
activities particularly for people with intellectual disabilities, who within these environments find
life-long friends, partners and workmates.
Our current view is to accept the social model of disability – that society must adapt to the needs of
people with disabilities, accept that individual needs are paramount; but at the same time provide
a combination of individual service models with communal and community based activities that
everyone who joins Endeavour can be part of. We experience this as we work here at Maitland –
we hear the joyous singing and the laughter, we smell the delectable aromas of cooking. It’s not
moving, it’s not inspirational; it’s just refreshingly normal.
As this report goes to print we have just been informed that we have achieved our Third Party Verification status that accredits Endeavour against the Disability Services Standards for NSW government funding which will continue until the NDIS is rolled our across all of the state. Congratulations
to everyone involved in the audit, staff, parents and carers and of course our clients who made a
lasting impression on the audit team.
Lorraine Mordue
Acting CEO
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2013/14 Annual Report
Secretary’s Report
This year hasn’t been without its challenges for the Board, Management and staff. It has seen a
number of changes within the company, changes to staff structure and a very close look at a
number of our activities and systems.
Following the resignation of our CEO we have utilised the services of our Quality, Risk, and
Compliance Manager Lorraine Mordue to steer the ship and also called upon other senior staff to
step up while we reassess our direction. Also a big thank you to our President Peter for his time
and effort during this time.
Regular Board bi-monthly meetings have been called and a number of special meetings were
called to assist in the decision making process. A strategic planning meeting with Board, Senior
Staff and Managers was run and proved to be a great exercise for all concerned.
Currently the Board consists of Peter Torenbeek, Michael Cleaves, Glenn Davies, Danny Litwin, John
Marjoribanks, Drew Kelvin, Rod Johnson, Les Beveridge and Stewart Burns. Pratt Scott retired in
October 2013 but was appointed as Endeavour Patron member and Treasurer Cain Beckett
resigned due to business pressures in July 2014. Danny Litwin assumed the role of Acting Treasurer
to fill this casual vacancy.
The Board has held a number of in house discussions about their role, their responsibilities, and
their duty of care with more in the pipeline. An external consultant is being engaged to assist in
highlighting a number of governance and legal issues for Board members training.
It has been a difficult year and a number of challenging issues remain but are being addressed.
NDIS continues to create new matters to resolve and we are investigating outside support in this
area.
Through all of this Endeavour continues to provide a quality service in the Hunter Valley to our
clients spanning from Muswellbrook to Newcastle. In the ever changing environment we live in
now, Endeavour continues to grow and support those with disabilities in our community.
Glenn Davies
Honorary Secretary
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2013/14 Annual Report
President’s Report
This is my second President’s report and it covers the past financial year where the Board and management
have aimed to overcome a number of issues to ensure that Endeavour Group Australia continued onwards
and upwards assisting our people and the wide range of programmes we deliver.
The purpose of our long established company is clear and the fact we are a “not for profit” community
organisation leads us to ensure all clear funds are utilised for improved and increased in-house activities.
This is paramount to our aims.
Sadly during the year there have been a number of changes within the ranks of our Endeavour team, from
the senior role down to others levels. At a time when so many new concepts and directions of our business
were being developed this has placed extraordinary pressure on select staff and members of the Board
alike.
Some of these pressure points are still unresolved but all are being addressed. I thank the Board members
and all of the staff involved for their tolerance and support offered.
We are yet to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer after the resignation of our last CEO in late February. The
Board tested the market, however we were unable to acquire what we believe was someone with the
necessary skills and capabilities to manage and run our expanding business at this challenging time.
Executive Manager Lorraine Mordue offered and stepped into the Acting CEO role in March and continues in
this capacity with the Boards support and blessing. Her knowledge of the company, staff, and the people
has been invaluable in keeping us heading in the right direction. Thank you Lorraine for this worthy
contribution.
As I write this report I have been advised that our Administration Manager Allan Collins is moving on to new
horizons after over 10 years well spent within the company. I personally have worked closely with him during
this time and I know the Board, staff, Clients and external stakeholders all wish him well in any future enterprise. Best wishes Allan from us all at Endeavour.
Thank you also to the Parents and Carers Consultative Group. Their involvement continues to assist
Endeavour in recognising and addressing all manner of things that could help their family member become
more comfortable in our workforce or programs. This is greatly appreciated and I was pleased to attend a
meeting this year to acknowledge and encourage this group.
It was in March 1965, nearly 50 years ago, that a group of interested parents and friends formed a group
that came to be known as the Endeavour Industries (Sheltered Workshop) Ladies Auxiliary. This confirms
“From little things, big things grow.”
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2013/14 Annual Report
More recently the Board decided not to proceed with the Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund
project (SAIF). This was disappointing but in looking at all facets of the project, including funding, support,
construction, and rental – while also watching the looming NDIS concept – our risk analysis caused us to
step back from this at this time. The door is still open for revisiting this development at a later stage.
Our activities at Endeavour now stretch from Cessnock to Port Stephens, Mayfield to Muswellbrook and
Lake Macquarie. With our Central Office in Maitland we now cover a wide area of the Hunter Valley
achieving good results and have a much improved profile.
It is pleasing to see the broad range of services being run for our people in all sections and the care and
commitment given by support workers and related staff to our people with a disability. This includes the
laundry and wine packaging businesses, well established and respected, forming the backbone of several
other activities where our people can gain valuable employment, skills, and interaction with very positive
outcomes. I am sure all concerned recognise and are proud to be a part of our company that started from
humble beginnings in the sixties as mentioned earlier up to a stage where we are today. Genuine thanks
are extended to all concerned.
Finally while the company works through many of the issues confronting it at this time, the Board too is
closely looking at where it is heading. We have lately had meetings and discussions to ascertain, in this
more demanding climate, the capacity of the volunteer Board members to carry out their duties.
The culture of the role has been changing greatly over recent years. Legislation and government controls
have been making the role more onerous and this has in turn impacted on available time of our members.
While you will see changes made in the near future I trust the recognition of past contributions will not go
unnoticed by those that may follow.
The Board as available has met often during the year and we have covered a lot of ground and I
acknowledge and thank you for all you have done and the time you have spent.
On behalf of the Board to all staff, thank you for your perseverance during the year. With renovations and
relocations, with new staff to settle in and train, having to work on sometimes without a direct reporting
staff member, there have been many trials and tribulations to overcome. We believe you have conducted
yourself well and it is appreciated by the Board. A simple thank you is hardly sufficient but “Thank you” from
us all.
Peter Torenbeek
President
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