Committe of Mangement 2008/2009

President
First Vice President
Second Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Committee Members
Immediate Past President
Public Officer

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President Jason Dawson

Business website www.beechworthsfc.com.au

First Vice President Kristy Howard

Business website www.inspiringexcellence.com.au

Second Vice President Robert Ransom

Business website www.beechworthmotorinn.com.au

Secretary Sue Humphris

I grew up in Stawell, near the Grampians – we did move 8 klms to Great Western for a number of years but then moved back to Stawell.

I worked for the ANZ Bank in Stawell for almost 10 years, then moved onto becoming a qualified Travel Consultant. I married Roger in 1987 and we had two children, Ryan and Katelyn. In 1994 we moved to Cobar in outback New South Wales then in 2000 we transferred to Roxby Downs in outback South Australia. During our ‘outback stint’ I worked in various paid roles in the primary and secondary schools, was receptionist for an optometrist and in Roxby Downs I started working for the TAFE college. I also undertook volunteer positions as President of the Cobar Childcare Centre and Treasurer of the Cobar Mobile Resources Unit, which were quite involved roles (bigger than I imagined when I volunteered!!).

In 2002 we decided to move to Gawler to settle the kids into good schools and ‘stay put’ for a while. I was employed again by the TAFE College and worked my way up to Office Manager. After 5 years we decided to throw in our jobs and purchase the Lake Sambell Caravan Park in Beechworth. We have been here for 2 ½ years now and have settled into Beechworth really well. We have worked hard on improving the grounds and facilities in the park together with developing systems and procedures in the office which were previously non-existent. I have found my previous office administration, customer service experience and high work ethic have translated into us running a successful business.

I don’t really have ‘spare time’ anymore with a seven day a week business and being Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and mother of two busy teenage children, but I do enjoy casual tennis, motorbike riding and walking. I was an avid patchwork and quilter in my 'previous life', and have boxes and boxes of quilts locked in a shipping container out the back. When I retire I may well pick that hobby back up again.

Business website www.caravanparkbeechworth.com.au

Treasurer Warren Dimond

Prior to purchasing the Armour Motor Inn this year, Warren was appointed Chief Internal Auditor for Coles Myer Ltd. He was previously National Director, Internal Audit Division at Deloite Ross Tohmatsu, General Manager, Group Internal Audit with Elders IXL limited and was responsible for the world-wide audit of Elders' operations, encompassing all major groups; brewing, agribusiness, finance/merchant banking, resources and investments.

Warren is/was an Associate of the Australian Society of Accountants, Registered Company Auditor, Certified Practicing Accountant, Associate of the Australian Institute of Management, Associate Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and Fellow of the Taxation Institute of Australia. He is/was also a Member of the Australian institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Society of Senior Executives.

Warren has attended Advanced Management Programs, Technical seminars including Computing, Audit, Accounting, General Management as well as courses on Negotiating Skills and Time Management. He attended the Graduate School of Management (Melbourne University) Organisational Behaviour (1992), was a Presenter/Speaker at various National and International Congresses, Conventions and Seminars on Internal Audit. He was a presenter at in-house management programs e.g. Coles Myer – Administrative College, Mt Eliza and a former member of a six man task force under Chairmanship of the Auditor General to review 'Audit Practices' in Australia.

In his spare time, Warren enjoys flying as he has his Commercial Pilot's License, playing tennis and snow skiing.

Business website www.armourmotorinn.com.au

Committee Member Jodi Goldsworthy

Jodie Goldsworthy is a fourth generation apiarist. Steven & Jodie Goldsworthy commenced as commercial apiarists in their own right in 1992.

Since 1992, Beechworth Honey has grown from a small primary production partnership producing bulk honey and selling it as a bulk commodity to a rapid growth value adding business. The brand is now one of the “majors” in the Australian honey category. Beechworth Honey is now the countries largest independently owned specialist honey company. Jodie has expanded the companies products into a range of growing overseas markets and developed the highly successful visitor education centre the Beechworth Honey Experience.

Jodie has been responsible for developing Beechworth Honey into a trusted, 100% Australian, national and international food brand. She has developed the companies Food Safety program from its beginnings and this program and the companies quality achievements were awarded a national HACCP Food Safety Award in 2007.

She holds a post graduate degree in Strategic Marketing along with a Bachelor of Applied Science and is passionate about regional business development, Australian agriculture and food and the environment.

Jodie was a member of the two previous Deputy Prime Ministers “Regional Women’s Advisory Council” from 2002 - 2007, appointed to give advice to the Australian Government about issues affecting rural and regional Australia. She was an attendee of the current Prime Ministers 2020 Summit.

Jodie has just released here first book “Cooking, Tasting, Living Honey” which takes you into a world of eating, living, sleeping and breathing honey as has been her life.

Jodie is an accomplished and highly sought after speaker and her latest projects involve broadening the publics awareness of the link between food production and worlds last remaining “Varrao free” healthy bees managed here in Australia by around 2000 commercial beekeepers.

Business website www.beechworthhoney.com.au

Committee Member Karen Nankervis

I’ve been in Beechworth for 20 years and share my life with my two daughters, my partner Graeme, his boys and my wonderful family and friends.

I grew up in Wangaratta, eldest of 3. After college, I worked for the Defense Department and Ford Motor Company and since moving to Beechworth, have worked locally at Mayday, the bakery, local primary school and currently at Beechworth Health Service.

With the arrival of motherhood, I focused on the party plan industry as my opportunity to be a full time mum and still enjoy the flexibility and benefits offered, particularly in the senior management position I maintained for over 10 years. This flexibility was very important when Leah was diagnosed with autism at age 3, and the myriad of therapies, assessments and bureaucratic b**t that followed. A strong support network of friends & family has allowed me to be the proud mother of two gorgeous girls who are both achieving in their own directions.

In 2004 I started ‘My Beechworth Secretary’. I wanted to utilise and expand the secretarial skills I had developed and provide excellent services to the Beechworth community and beyond. I am blessed with amazing clients – locally and from all over Australia – who allow me to be an integral part of their businesses and lives.

As well as running my own business, I’m active in the local community with the Business & Professional Women’s Club, Chamber of Commerce, After School Care Advisory Group, school Parents Network and Wild OATs Autism Group. My girls also dance, play hockey and do karate.

And in my ‘spare time’, I love to read, garden, do crafts and catch up with friends for a cuppa. I’m having too much fun to be bored!!

Business website www.mybeechworthsecretary.com.au

Committee Member Fiona Larkings

My parents moved to Beechworth when I was 6 months old so I suppose you would call me a local. I had the pleasure of attending school here in town and growing up as part of the local community. One of my favorite memories is doing the milk run on horse and cart in the wee hours of the morning with my father.

I moved away for eight years after completing my HSC. During this time I worked in Melbourne, travelled overseas and completed a degree. I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Deakin University in 1995 majoring in Graphic Design. From 1996 industry experience was gained in design and installation of websites with a North East Victorian Internet Service Provider. I furthered my studies in Multimedia at Melbourne's RMIT.

In early 1998 I established WWW.ART Design Services in Beechworth. At this time I approached the Indigo Shire with an idea to produce a website for the town of Beechworth. Due to a lack of interest in the project from Indigo Shire, several key businesses in town were approached to gauge support for a town website. With the enthusiasm of Tom O’Toole, who was President of the Beechworth Chamber of Commerce at the time, I decided to take the financial risk and build a Beechworth Website. The website now promotes over 125 local businesses.

WWW.ART Design Services Pty Ltd was incorporated in March 2008 with a vision to provide clients with an entire web solution. The business now services five key areas of work:
- Website design, maintenance & marketing
- Domain name registration
- Email & website hosting
- Website & computer training
- Development of co-operative marketing initiatives

Business website www.wwwart.com.au

Committee Member Bill Bell

Business website www.goldenheritage.com.au

Committee Member Tracy McVea

Business email beechworth@newsxpress.com.au

Committee Member Greg Clydesdale

Business email gcent@aapt.net.au

Immediate Past President Catherine Smith

I was born in Hervey Bay Queensland. I am the eldest of 4 children. My parents owned a farm where we raised Appaloosa Horses and Murray Gray cattle.

Our farm was right on the beach and we had several aboriginal middens on our property. One of the local elders, Olga Miller, used to come and tell us stories of her tribal history. These stories can now be seen on SBS as told by Olga. My childhood was a very interesting one.

Brian and I have been married for 24 years and have 3 children.

I have had several career changes and I ran my own home based business for 5 years. I was on the steering committee for Family Day Care. Taking it from a basic service to a professional and government regulated organisation.

In 1997 we moved to Geelong for Brian’s job. I worked for 3 years for Department of Human Services, working with and supporting families in crisis. I became a qualified counselor and volunteered with street kids and the homeless. Some of my most treasured memories are from that time.

We brought our first motel in 2001 in Ballarat and operated it for 6 ½ years. We both fell in love with the industry and have now purchased the Carriage Motor Inn here in Beechworth. Beechworth has won our hearts and we will stay here until we retire, which is a very long way off. When I retire I would like to volunteer in aboriginal communities working with and supporting families while learning more about their culture.

The Carriage Motor Inn is a 3.5 star motel only 200m from the famous Beechworth Bakery, historic precinct and vibrant café and shopping strip.

You will enjoy the view of gorgeous oak trees which constantly change with the seasons and overlooking one of the many heritage uildings Beechworth is famous for.

We have 27 non smoking ground floor units and a restaurant; we offer our guests free high-speed broadband internet and free use of the guest laundry. All of our rooms have a minimum of a queen bed up to rooms suitable for families. For that special occasion we have a spa suite available as well as offering a number of packages for couples and families.

We have recently ripped out and replaced all of our bathrooms and replaced all of our bedding and linen. We have added lounges and modern dining settings. We are constantly upgrading our rooms and surveying our guests so we know what they require. Businesses are invited to call in and view our rooms and facilities at any time.

Carriage Motor Inn has a strong philosophy on supporting local businesses. We buy supplies locally were we can and only stock local beers and wines. We strongly encourage our guests to spend money in Beechworth as many of you will already be aware of by some of the initiatives we have implemented over the last 8 months. We have 24 hour reception for those late arrivals. We do our best to ensure our guests leave feeling good about Beechworth and their experiences here and we encourage them to tell their friends and family they must come and experience Beechworth.

Business website www.carriagemi.com.au

Public Officer Nick Henry

Business website www.ardentalpaca.com.au

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