From the President
I don’t need to remind you that the cool season is starting. As a Post Polio, I for one, do not appreciate being cold!
On the front page of our last Newsletter I told you that Mary-ann Liethof would come to South Australia to conduct a Meeting to “Future Proof” Polio SA. This Meeting was a time for all of us on the Committee to assess where Polio SA was going.
The major outcome was to use some of our accumulated investment funds to employ a part-time “Community and Membership Officer”. With help from Tom from CBB and a video link to Mary-ann we interviewed the six “best” applicants and I am very pleased to be able to introduce you all to Helen Leach.
Helen is employed to perform 15 hours of work per week for Polio SA. Helen has spent time at CBB learning how our funding “works” and other administrative tasks to enable smooth operation. Helen also went to Melbourne and spent time with Mary-ann and Stephanie Cantrill to learn how Polio Australia is managed. As you can see Helen has already done a lot to learn how to improve services to Members of Polio SA. There will be more to come. Thank you for your enthusiasm Helen. (Helen introduces herself on Page 6 of this newsletter.)
From what I have heard, the Hydrotherapy sessions at the Repat Pool are very popular and I believe most sessions are now fully attended which is very pleasing.
The Annual General Meeting of Polio SA will be on Sunday 18th August 2019 in the Meeting Room at 302 South Road at 1:00pm (see the official AGM details on Page 9 of this newsletter). We are very fortunate to have Dr. Quadros as our guest speaker to address the group after the “Business” part is over.
Unfortunately, after more than 15 years at the subscription fee of $15 per annum we have had to increase the annual fee to $20 for a single and $25 for Member and Partner and $25 for Professionals. I am sorry to have to do this, but increased printing fees and other miscellaneous costs have meant we need a bit more cash to maintain our services. I know it is trite, but that increase is less than the cost of some cups of coffee!
Brett Howard, President Polio SA bihoward@bigpond.com | 0403 339 814