Issue 2 April 2009

Alumni NEWSOn Thursday, 26 February the GHQ was offi cially opened by Premier John Brumby.

The opening began with a Welcome to Country ceremony performed by Glenn Shea from the Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative.

Milly Parker, a long-term TAC client was superb as MC and got things going with a brief history of the TAC. ‘Journey’ was the theme of the ceremony and Milly described her personal journey with an acquired brain injury and how this had changed her life.

Guests also heard from Minister for the TAC, Tim Holding, Premier John Brumby and CEO Janet Dore who all expanded on the ‘Journey’ theme, describing the TAC’s journey to Geelong and what it means for the region.

The ceremony marked the fi nal stage in the largest relocation ever undertaken by a Victorian government organisation.

The following Saturday the people of Geelong had a chance to check out the new building at the Community Open Day. Over 300 people took a tour of the GHQ’s modern facilities and learned about the building’s eco-friendly features.

THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE GHQ

IN THIS ISSUE…

page 2 Where are they now? page 3 News from the TAC page 4 Happy Snaps

The GHQ gets the thumbs up from (left to right) Minister for the TAC Tim Holding, Paul Barker, Janet Dore, John Bren, Premier John Brumby, Lisa Neville, Ian Tresize and Michael Crutchfi eld.

Premier Brumby and Minister Holding share a laugh with TAC staff after the opening ceremony.

A number of relationships began in 2002. Ben Affl eck kissed Nicole Kidman, Owen Wilson dated Demi Moore and Justin Timberlake started seeing an angelic young blonde called Britney Spears. But when Carmel Duffy began working at the TAC it was clear from the start that this relationship was the real deal.

As with many successful relationships, Carmel and the TAC started out slow. Carmel began working on a temporary basis before anything got too serious. Then, after eight months, she decided it was time to take the relationship to the next level and began working full time as an Executive Assistant. From that point on both Carmel and the TAC never looked back.

Carmel sights her fi nal two years with the TAC as the most rewarding. In this time she worked as a project coordinator on the TAC’s Avanti project, focussing on logistics and playing an integral role in the project’s success.

The team’s unyielding professionalism and wonderful sense of camaraderie made it a pleasure to head in to work each day.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the TAC from the day I arrived until the day I left. I’d still be there now if the organisation hadn’t moved away,” says Carmel.

But still, life must go on. After enjoying a short but very well earned rest, Carmel quickly found a new job at the Department of Justice where she now works alongside some 7000 people. Carmel is currently working on a project called Responsible Alcohol Victoria where she is in charge of coordinating training and logistics. Interestingly, she has encountered a number of former TAC employees at her new workplace.

When asked whether she had needed to learn any new skills for the new job Carmel quickly said “no”, noting that she was “old enough... no wait... experienced enough... to have acquired the necessary skills in advance.”

While Carmel clearly got a lot out of her relationship with the TAC, she also helped make it a pleasant place for others, not just because of her affable personality and keen sense of fun but also through her involvement in the Social Club, of which she eventually became Treasurer. Carmel remembers the TAC End of Year Ball as the highlight of the social calendar.

As with most relationships that end amicably, the healing process can be made easier by keeping in contact. Carmel would like to urge her old work mates – or should we say former work mates – to stay in touch. When time permits she may even drop by to see the new premises in Geelong and say hello to everyone who made her time at the TAC so special.

The TAC is a proud sponsor of www.leadershipvictoria.org Leadership Victoria. We are delighted to offer our Alumni members an opportunity to participate in a TAC funded program called ExperienceBank: Making a Difference.

Eligibility

ExperienceBank is open to anyone over 40 who wants to use their professional leadership skills in a community context.

Full program details are available in the ExperienceBank section of the Leadership Victoria website.

If you are interested in applying for this program simply send your resume and a cover letter outlining why you would be a suitable TAC ambassador on this program to Tracey Dore: tracey_dore@tac.vic.gov.auThe deadline for applications is Friday, 24 April.

Should you have any further queries please contact Tracey Dore on 5225 6248.

2 Alumni News

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?LOVE TACTUALLY…

LEADERSHIP VICTORIA

With her serene manner it’s easy to see why Carmel Duffy is still the face of the TAC’s Research brochure!

Like many organisations the TAC raised money and coordinated donations of food, clothing and assistance for the victims of the recent bushfi res. The generosity of current and former TAC employees and their willingness to help was outstanding.

The TAC Social Club organised several events to collect money for the Bushfi re Appeal. CEO Janet Dore even raised the idea of the TAC Board matching dollar for dollar all money raised by the Social Club, which the Board agreed to. In all, the Social Club raised $6244.85 through their BBQ and raffl es.

A donation room was set up on level 3 at the GHQ and it was soon swamped with gifts of clothes, blankets, household items and food.

There was also a TAC presence at the Bushfi re Crisis Centres located in Whittlesea, Traralgon, Yea and Alexandra. TAC alumni members kindly donated their time and expertise and made themselves available at the centres to answer any questions about TAC assistance for victims of the fi res.

A big thank you to everyone who helped during this time.

In March Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick and gun midfi elder Grant Brebner visited the GHQ with a few well travelled pieces of silverware.

They chatted with staff and Ernie regaled the Victory fans with a few tales of the season gone by – including a list of some of the nightclubs the trophies had been left in!

Both were more than happy to be in some happy snaps and a queue quickly formed as eager fans waited to get their hands on the Champions Trophy and pose with the boys.

In January Tracey Slatter started as the TAC’s new Executive Manager in Claims.

Prior to joining the TAC Tracey was the CEO of the Colac Otway Shire and before that Tracey held a number of senior executive roles in the Department of Human Services.

A warm welcome to Tracey who has quickly found her feet at the TAC.

Alumni News 3

THE VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES

MELBOURNE VICTORY VISIT THE TAC

NEW EXECUTIVE MANAGER, CLAIMS APPOINTED

What’s happeningat the TAC? Each quarter Alumni News will

give you an overview of what is happening at the TAC.

Tracey Slatter.

Fans were excited by the Melbourne Victory visit.

What would you like to see in the next Alumni newsletter?

Do you have some news you’d like to share or is there an event you think that TAC alumni would be interested in? If so, email your ideas to the alumni inbox at: alumni@tac.vic.gov.au

Alumni News 4

After the success of Friday night drinks at the Tuscan Bar, TAC Alumni will be back there again on Friday, 24 April. It’s a great little venue in the city and you can check out their website by clicking here: www.tuscanbar.com.au

Please RSVP to: alumni@tac.vic.gov.au if you can make it. We will endeavour to get a reserved area for the alumni catch up.

UPCOMING EVENTS YOUR TAC ALUMNI

Jo Utting (left) has Kathleen Barker stifl ing a laugh as they pose for this pic.

Former CEO Stephen Grant caught up with Jane Bloomfi eld at the Tuscan Bar.

Katrina White (right) took time out formulating her plans for world domination and posed with De-Arnne Schmidt for this happy snap.

The old Corporate Affairs team of Anna Chalko (left) De-Arnne Schmidt and Colin Radford.

Diana Elliott wasn’t afraid to let her hair down at the Tuscan Bar.

Melanie van Altena (left) with Samantha Cockfi eld.

HAPPY SNAPS… FRIDAY DRINKS AT THE TUSCAN BAR