PRESIDENT’S PAGE In my final magazine article as your QJA President, I take this opportunity to reflect on the evolution of the organisation over the last five years. So, how has QJA grown and developed in its journey since the beginning of 2017?
EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN LAST FIVE YEARS Financial reserves In this respect, QJA has sustained substantial growth. The value of financial reserves, as per the published financial statements has grown by 44%, from $359,249 in 2017 to $518,358 in 2021. Admittedly, the 2021 number includes, for the first time, the financial reserves held by the 24 QJA branches. In any case, the QJA’s financial reserves have developed to now be in excess of $0.5M - a very sound position. Business development initiatives In order to remain relevant and to meet the needs and expectations of our continually changing membership, QJA has committed to continually improve and expand the programs and services provided to members and branches. So, what initiatives have been introduced in the last 5 years? 2017 For the first time in 2017, QJA introduced the Branch Forum program under which leadership representatives from regional clusters of QJA Branches were gathered together with representatives from the QJA Board to discuss matters of mutual interest. Strong positive feedback from attendees at that inaugural program convinced the Board that regular structured sessions involving board and branch representatives should be continued and enhanced into the future. The QJA Awards program was also introduced in 2017 to recognise and reward exceptional performance. The inaugural winners of the awards were: Branch of the Year – Hornibrook Branch; Member of the Year – David Harris (Brisbane North); and Community Engagement award – Logan Branch.
QJA Quarterly
2018 The initiatives of 2018 were focused primarily on recognising and celebrating QJA’s centennial year. A special gold-coloured centennial badge was struck and regional functions were held across the State to present these badges to members who attended. As well, the Board commissioned the writing of a QJA-history publication to document and recognise the evolution and development of the organisation over the preceding one hundred years. QJA certainly endured some ups and downs over that timeframe and the history publication, titled Across the Generations, faithfully tracks that chequered path. The major celebratory event was the Centennial Year Conference and Gala Dinner, involving three high profile keynote speakers and 25 other presenters, and was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. This event attracted in excess of 200 delegates, whose feedback (more than 90% rating the overall experience as excellent or very good) confirmed the high calibre of the conference content and the associated social events. 2019 The most significant initiative for 2019 was the introduction of the QJA eLogbook. With functionality and resources to guide and support users in undertaking and recording all JP duties, the eLogbook has become an indispensable tool for the modern-day JP/CDec. This innovative product is available exclusively to QJA members as an included benefit of membership – no extra charge,
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