From design concepts and solutions to photography tips, it was great to see so many of our amazing volunteers enjoying the state conference.

Volunteers from all over NSW attended the annual Volunteer Conference which was a great day of information sharing, networking and collaboration generously funded by Peter Jenkins in memory of Bill Jenkins, a long-time volunteer for TAD.

The day began with TAD’s Annual General Meeting, lead by Chairman Monica Vardabasso, where we formally welcomed newest board members Camilla Love, Lali Wiratunga and Sujeet Rana. CEO Danny Kapustin then addressed attendees with a presentation on TAD’s progress over the last year.

After a brief morning tea, Richard Jenkins, on behalf of brother Peter, formally opened the conference with an insight of what volunteering at TAD meant to their late father Bill. Bill was a TAD Volunteer for over 20 years, he was the Coordinator of TAD Macarthur and built hundreds of custom equipment pieces. In attendance were Richard and Debbie Jenkins representing the family.

Guest speakers and TAD Volunteers Paul Taylor and Frederick Thomson lead attendees through group activities where their teamwork and lateral thinking skills would be in use. Topics like Mandatory Reporting and Design Principles were discussed and case studies presented. Bob Cook, volunteer and photographer, gave tips on how to take good pictures of projects for future sharing. Having recently returned to TAD, OT Jessica Canacott presented the SETT Framework which is a system which can help volunteers when considering aspects of designing assistive technology.

We were lucky to have Paralympian and gold medallist Jason Lachance join us after lunch to speak about the work of our volunteers and how they have helped him be an independent father. New parents to 6 week old Luke, Jason and Christie needed a change table and cot modified. The project was taken on by Jim Barrett who had a chance to meet baby Luke on the day.

Brendan Worne, Operations Manager, gave a volunteer update and Alison Bray, Development Manager, spoke about the TAD brand refresh and the customer experience.

A new addition to the annual Volunteer Conference was the Project of the Year award. Attendees were given a summary of each project and voted on the one they believed to be the most innovative and interesting project. Congratulations to Michael Smith from TAD Port Macquarie for his project Silicone Liner Applicator.

To read more about the project and all the nominees click here.

Thank you to all our speakers and everyone that attended the event. A special thank you to the Sew Wot Quilters of Point Claire for donating a beautiful handmade quilt for our lucky door prize, won by Mayo Brumby of TAD Port Macquarie.

Congratulations to the following volunteers who received awards for their years of service at TAD.

For 25 years of service

William Todd

For 20 years of service

Ken Hickson
Geoffrey Key
Richard Smith

For 15 years of service

Bruce Hattersley
Ken Kirwood
Mike Rollins
Frederick Thomson

For 10 years of service

Peter Bennett
John Brumby
Mayo Brumby
Peter Loewensohn
Geoffrey Milton

For 5 years of service

Bill Thornley
Tom Yelland