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 My Picture-Perfect Farewell
March 27, 2008 - All I can say is thank you ... For many years at Bean Growers Australia I admired the painting that was hanging on the wall in the boardroom. This view of the BGA complex surrounded by paddocks was painted by well-known Kingaroy artist David Bryce.
When I retired from the company late last year, I joked that it would look good on my wall at home.
Last week, BGA asked me to attend a Board Meeting. At the end of business, they presented me with the painting!
This has capped off a long and very happy association BGA for me.
I was there, more or less, from the beginning and I worked with many, many good people over the years who contributed to the company's success.
I'll always remember them - and the good times I had at BGA - whenever I look at this painting.
ABOVE RIGHT: BGA Director Ian Sharpe, CEO Mark Adamson, Chairman Colin Hoey, Keith Campbell and Directors Russell Dower and Gary Truss. Photo courtesy South Burnett Times
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 Plaque Marks Site of Old Mannuem School
March 24, 2008 - Mannuem State School closed in 1983 but a band of former students has continued to meet on a regular basis to keep old friendships and memories alive.
Along the way it was decided to commemorate the site of the former school by placing a plaque on the nature strip adjacent to the site. I was honoured earlier this month to be asked to unofficially unveil this plaque (right).
Many thanks to Hazel Gurski (nee Vidler), Lyle Vidler, Gloria Imber (nee Hayden), Norm Ford, Bob Horton and a band of other helpers who worked to make this project a reality.
The Friends of Mannuem School group has asked the new South Burnett Regional Council to ensure that places of significance to the development of the South Burnett are marked and suitably badged with an appropriate commemorative inscription.
I will ensure that this matter is kept on the agenda of Council as we move forward.
The old school sites were the centre of life for little farming communities. There are scarcely any remaining that service farming districts as children are now transported to the larger centres.
PS. The former Mannuem school buildings can now be found at St John's Lutheran School in Kingaroy. They were the very first buildings used by the Lutheran School Committee to start their private school. The former school residence became the Principal's Office and Administrative Block. The old school itself became the classrooms for the first students.
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 ANZ Blue Week Boosts Meals on Wheels
March 1, 2008 - Bean counters often get a bad reputation ... but not when the beans in question are bright blue jelly beans and the competition to count them helped to raise much-needed funds for charity.
ANZ Blue Week, a week-long fundraising effort by ANZ staff, raised a total of $1770.10 for a proposed kitchen extension by Kingaroy Meals on Wheels.
The cheque from ANZ has put the drive to raise $40,000 for the extension firmly on track.
As president of Kingaroy Meals on Wheels, I would like to thank the ANZ staff for their fundraising effort and congratulate Tenille Robins who guessed there were 2568 blue jellybeans in the bucket! Photo courtesy: South Burnett Times
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 Facelift For Memorial Park Rotunda
February 29, 2008 - The historic rotunda in Memorial Park, Kingaroy, (right), a unique memorial honoring World War I battlefields, will undergo a $50,000 facelift thanks to the Kingaroy-Memerambi RSL Sub-Branch and Kingaroy Shire Council.
I was very pleased to represent Council with Director of Engineering Ian Slader at a ceremony at the rotunda last Friday. Representatives from the RSL Sub-Branch presented Council with a cheque for $10,000 to assist with the project. Funding has also be accessed from the State Government's Community Memorial Restoration Program.
The old dome on the rotunda which was made in the 1930s from a bitumen-coated fabric, will be replaced with a waterproof fibreglass dome.
Photo courtesy: South Burnett Times
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