Speak Out August 2020 August digital dummy

From the President

Tim Kittel O ne of Belinda Hill’s last duties as Vice President was to close the awards ceremony as a part of our first, completely online, Annual General Meeting (AGM). “On behalf of Speech Pathology Australia, I would like to thank you for your attendance this evening,” she said with a smile, handing back to the Online Facilitator. But if you waited right to the end, just before he turned off the audio, there was a laugh of relief, and you would have heard three final words: “We did it!” I’m not completely sure who it was who said that, but I suspect it may have been Nicole Pantalleresco, Board and Executive Assistant. Nicole had spent months of effort coordinating this new initiative. Working with Gail, Nicole had workshopped through all the possible risks and challenges involved. Having to hold an AGM online is something facing literally thousands of organisations, and not all have been successful. So, as a result, if it was Nicole, she absolutely deserved to utter these last words. And also because these words echo the experience that many speech pathologists are having right now. The ‘Embracing New Ways of Working’ feature article is a fantastic read, pulling together the experiences of speech pathologists across the nation, and the ways in which