FROM THE CHAIR
3
Dear Members
These are difficult times and in light of that, your Board has had to make the difficult decision to postpone our National Conference. We want all our members to be safe and to make sure that the Conference is available to all. We simply couldn’t entertain the idea of a conference where we could not guarantee that people would be allowed to travel there, or having got to Brisbane, to return home.
The safety and well-being of our members, and the broader community, need to be front of mind in times like these. I appreciate the very difficult position we’d have placed our sponsors and supporters in if we’d elected to proceed. Their continued goodwill and support are important and our respect for them dictates that they are treated with due consideration. Having a conference that was compromised by the present COVID 19 crisis would not be fair to them, to you, or as I mentioned to the wider community to whom we have a collective responsibility.
We did not want to lose the momentum the prospect of a National Conference generates and with that in mind the Board has elected to stage a national “Un-conference” bringing all our chapter events together into an integrated Physical and Digital platform. We know our members love to meet and network so we will be taking advantage of the opportunity to meet face to face and network where it is safe, sensible and permitted by local authorities. As you appreciate, one advantage of our Virtual events is that state borders are now meaningless – every Member can ‘attend’, irrespective of where they reside or work. We are excited to work with our members, state chapters and sponsors to bring together an exciting, engaging and valuable experience.
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome the following new members to your Board of Directors: Wilma Weaver, Murali Ramakrishnan, Brian Hughes,
and Feisar Joya. You may already know all or at least some of these members; Wilma for example has been associated with our NT Branch and is held in the highest regard by service management community there. Feisar too has a long history with the SA Branch and I’d like to welcome them both, along with Murali and Brian to the new Board.
itSMF Australia has always managed to attract strong candidates for its Board of Directors and these four Members, our most recent additions, are evidence that responsible, strong and sensible governance will continue in the Australian forum.
One initiative of the Board that holds great promise is the formation of a dedicated ‘Member Benefit’ committee tasked with the brief to find better ways to add tangible value to your membership. No doubt I will have more to say about this in the near future and the prospect of being able to deliver an enhanced member benefit package is one that is very exciting.
May I remind you, as the remainder of the year unfolds, to please be careful to maintain both your physical health, but also your mental well-being. In this edition of The Bulletin, you’ll find a useful and timely article detailing some practical strategies for managing the unique stresses of the workplace in these difficult times. Stay safe and remember your itSMF community is here to support you in these difficult times. Reach out to each other and stay connected.
Be kind to yourself, and enjoy the magazine.
Bradley Busch
Chair, itSMF Australia.