CLUB IQ August2017 | Page 28

Mid-Year Wrap Up Well, we just wrapped up another successful Mid-Year conference! It had been two years since the last time sunny Qld hosted the conference and it was great to be back. The Star Hotel having just undergone a stunning refurbishment was the backdrop for our conference and they did a great job hosting us over the four days. The events kicked off with a two part ACCM course, Emotional Intelligence being held on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the conference. This workshop was facilitated by Sarah Yip, from the Australian Institute of Management Brisbane. 35 delegates attended over the two days with a range of managers from DMs to HR, Ops and GMs which provided a great dynamic in the class. Whilst our delegates were studying hard we had a small group study tour go through the Tweed Heads Bowls Club for a kitchen design briefing with very talented Executive Chef Brad Whittaker. Tweed Heads Bowls Club has recently had significant renovations to their brasserie and cafe. It’s a large traditional club, however Brad Whittaker is well ahead of the times. Thanks Brad for taking the time to host our delegates. IQ 28 Jon Dee, Anchor Sky News, opened our conference and showed delegates how to be smarter with their energy use and resources and how this can have a direct result on a clubs bottom line. Jon’s book, Sustainable Growth has sold over 90,000 copies and is considered the definitive sustainability guidebook for small business. Jon also showed how in small steps and changes clubs can make a significant difference to their bottom line and the environment. Wrapping up the first day was Hostplus’ Greg Clerk who delivered the annual Australian and global economic update to our delegates. Later that night delegates and sponsors joined together to watch the live telecast of the State of Origin which again turned to Qld as the victors. Talk about ‘cementing the never give up attitude’ which was the conference theme; Michael Crossland, our keynote speaker was sensational and wowed the audience with his inspirational presentation recounting his adversity in life and how having self-belief can counter more challenges in our lives than we could ever expect. I struggle now to put the impact of his presentation into words and for those who were there, I am sure they can appreciate how hard it is to summarise, and do justice to the amazing story he told. Michael is not only a gifted speaker who relates his extraordinary story in a personal way, he is also an accomplished businessman, National Ambassador for Camp Quality, Australian of the Year finalist, Australia Day Ambassador and International Hall of Fame Inductee. His extraordinary story of resilience and overcoming unimaginable adversity, was sad, inspirational and at times even funny. Michael finished to a standing ovation from the audience and was gracious enough to stay and talk with our delegates and sign his book ‘Kids don’t get cancer’. Simon Dowling was our next presenter, a hard act to follow but