Photo Caption: Aberlea Life Member Doug Parker presents Felicity Melican with her Life Membership.
Recognition of three Aberlea Mortlake stalwarts, and looking to the future with renewed confidence, underpinned the organisation’s successful Annual General Meeting last week.
Board Chair Mick Murphy OAM said the AGM served to thank three key figures in the aged care provider’s 33-year history, while at the same time reflecting on 12 months of positivity.
“Despite the COVID-19 challenges, the board has a real sense that this past 12 months has been very proactive, rather than reactive and that’s a wonderful thing,” he said.
“As a board, we are no longer reacting and just keeping our heads above water…everyone has worked hard so that we are in a position to think ahead and concentrate on what Aberlea will look like in the future and in the long term.
“Aberlea has faced a challenging five years, but we are confident we now have the executive management team and staff in place to focus on the future with great confidence.”
Mr Murphy said it was a personal thrill of his to acknowledge the lifetime service of Doug Parker.
“Doug has been involved with Abbeyfield and Aberlea since the very beginning. He was a board member, a chairman, a CEO and then he came back on the board,” Mr Murphy said
“He decided not to renominate for the board and it’s a testament to his hard work and dedication over three decades that the organisation is here and healthy for our community.”
Mr Murphy said Mr Parker was also involved in presenting a life membership to Felicity Melican, while Morris Clark stepped up to thank retiring finance manager Terry McLennan for his services and present him with a life membership.
“It was a real celebration of our financial security. Felicity has also been with us for over 30 years as our external auditor and financial adviser and she prepared our accounts and returns for government since the very beginning – in addition to lots of volunteerism,” Mr Murphy said.
“Terry came on board six years ago to assist us with our financial position at the time. He volunteered for three months to help us through a challenging time and then we put him on as a part time financial resource. We owe Terry, Felicity and Doug a debt of gratitude.”
Mr Murphy said the AGM provided an opportune time to acknowledge the wider Aberlea team.
“Our staff have done a magnificent job throughout the COVID-19 period in our lives and through their hard work and dedication we are proud that our residents and families have not been seriously impacted by the pandemic,” he said.
“Another highlight of the meeting was the overview of our strategic plan presented by CEO David Knight and in particular the five key planks around growing our independent living offering, future proofing our residential age care business, improving our regional collaborations to expand services, re-imagining a new model for training and our home care services.”
Aberlea Mortlake reported a net operating profit for the 2021/22 financial year of $183,743.
Nick Allan became the newest member of the Board, filling the vacancy left by Doug Parker. Mr Murphy is also joined by Jen Roxburgh (vice-chair), Martin Van De Wouw (treasurer), Morris Clark, Mary Morton and Colin Ryan.
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