Speak Out August 2019 Digital Edition

Joint conference

our conferences – and for the wonderful prizes donated that were drawn at the conference dinner and appreciated by the lucky winners. The exhibition hall for this year’s conference was again filled with a range of novel, intriguing and high-quality products and services. We congratulate Kapitex for winning The Best

'Simulation research in speech pathology: Outcomes, lessons learned and translation into curricula.' The joint conference culminated in the “Unleash your superpower” themed dinner in the Plaza Terrace Ballroom at the BCEC. It was wonderful to see everyone embrace the theme and turn out in their imaginative attire. A few went somewhat “lateral” with the theme, so we saw iron man, spider man and wonder woman there! Many took the opportunity to capture their style (with a few embellishments) and memories of a wonderful joint conference in the very popular photo booth which was kept busy for the entire night. Chris Tomway our guest artist, is a self-taught guitarist with an unique playing style and sound. Spending his childhood with his family in the Torres Strait Islands, he now resides in Brisbane, and travels nationally and internationally with his music, as a proud ambassador for his culture and country. Following Chris, the dance floor didn’t take long to get busy thanks to the wonderful music and energy of our DJ Paul (DJ Diggler). Overall there was a fantastic celebratory atmosphere and a good number stayed right to the end of the night enjoying every minute. The CPC paid it forward after the conference dinner by donating the flower table centre decorations to many residential aged care facilities around Brisbane. Thank you to everyone who wrote empowering messages during the conference dinner. The recipients of the flowers were all very touched by the gesture! Conference app The conference app was popular and from the feedback delegates appreciated this year’s format and features. Delegates were able to view the sessions, speakers, their bio, social events, posters, exhibitors and keynote speaker handouts, as well as vote for the People’s Choice Poster Prize. Delegates could also collect points in the Game Zone. Congratulations to Linda Kendrick from New South Wales, who ended up top of the leader board and won a complimentary registration to the 2020 National Conference in Darwin. Thank you to Colleen Moloney and Lisa Petrov for doing a great job to produce the app. Conference proceedings Under the co-editorship of Clare McCann and Laurelie Wall, the keynote presentations and selected research papers will comprise the Conference Proceedings to be published in the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology . The papers from the 2019 conference will appear in the 2020 Volume 22 Issue 3. Articles will appear early online as soon as they have been accepted. Conference feedback survey Thank you to the 208 conference attendees who took the time to complete and submit their survey. Congratulations to Sarah Langtry from Victoria, who was the lucky winner of the complimentary registration to the 2020 National Conference in Darwin. ALL feedback, positive and constructive, has been collated and will be included in a detailed report to the Board in August. There will also be direct feedback to the 2020 Darwin CPC to assist them with their planning. Thank You! Sponsors and exhibitors Grateful thanks to our conference sponsors, whose support is so important in delivering the conference: Guild Insurance (conference dinner and photo booth), Flavour Creations (lunch Tuesday) and Best Practice Software (lanyards).

Exhibition Stand prize, which is one complimentary exhibition stand at the 2020 National Conference in Darwin.

It’s no secret that a lot of work goes into the organisation and delivery of a large scale conference so we have lots of people to thank. A massive thank you goes to the dedicated, committed and creative members of the Conference Planning Committee – Alison Smith, Felicity Bright, Laurelie Wall, Clare McCann, Rebecca Armstrong, Anne Huang, Renee Taylor. Plus, assistance from Cori Williams, Senior Advisor Evidence Based Practice and Research. It truly was a team effort and wonderful to be part of such a supportive group that responded with a positive and creative “can do” attitude to the unanticipated “curve balls” that came our way. We did it! The CPC extends a huge thank you to Pamela Richards, National Conference Manager, for all her hard work, assistance and advice along the way. The CPC also thanks Colleen Moloney, an event management student from Victoria University, who worked with Pam leading up to and during the joint conference. She was a great asset and did a fantastic job. A big thank you also to the helpful and friendly student volunteers Rachael Kiernan, Anna Marchant, Telicia Noack, Shauna Pali, Martha Palm Leis, Kirby Van Egmond and Kristina Woolston who worked alongside Pam at the conference registration desk, assisted the session chairs and ensured that delegates found their intended sessions. Without you the conference would not run as smoothly, so we really appreciate all your time and effort.

Finally, on behalf of the Conference Planning Committee we would like to sincerely thank all delegates, including the fabulous presenters, for engaging, collaborating and empowering at the joint conference in Brisbane. Without you there is no conference. We are grateful for the kind verbal, email and twitter feedback received that made the hard work worthwhile. The student volunteers put in many hours to help make the conference run smoothly.

Alison Smith and Felicity Bright 2019 Joint Conference Convenors Pamela Richards National Conference Manager

Thank you also to the many exhibitors for their ongoing support of

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August 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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