In excess of 130 delegates, partners and exhibitors explored Geelong and the Bellarine on 22-24 February for the 2019 Regional Conference.
The GMHBA Stadium – home to the Geelong Cats – was an excellent venue for the conference and a great base from which to explore all that the area had to offer.
After a very tasty lunch, City of Greater Geelong Mayor, Cr. Bruce Harwood, welcomed all to his home town and encouraged further investigation of the area.
The keynote address from Kevin O’Callaghan, CEO Victorian Land Registry Services, was highly informative and very well received.
CR Kennedy and UPG provided brief trade and new personnel updates.
The Surveyor-General Victoria and Land Use Victoria Cadastral Forum, was chaired by Surveyor-General Craig Sandy MISVic with presenters Eddie Cichocki MISVic, Alex Woods, Rafe Benli, Mark Grant, Madeline Carr, Mark Briffa, and Hamed Olfat. This session was particularly educational with an extensive Q&A session included.
The CR Kennedy sponsored Friday Night Networking Event was held at The Carousel on Geelong’s Waterfront. A fantastic night of great food and fellowship was had, with a definite highlight being the opportunity for all present to ride Australia’s second oldest carousel.
CR Kennedy’s Omar Gonzalez defeated Gary White in the Geelong Cup and, with the generous support of those punters present, $150 was raised to donate to the Country Women’s Association drought relief appeal. This amount was matched by ISV to provide a total donation of $300.
Saturday commenced with an ISV Update from President Kellie Dean MISVic, and Mark Sargent MISVic informed us How Victorian Surveyors can establish best practice spatial data management and Title Boundary Surveying in his UPG sponsored presentation.
Don Grant MISVic, presented on Functions, Benefits, and Optimum Accuracy for Upgraded Spatial Cadastres in Australia and New Zealand and many delegates commented on the excellence of this presentation.
Jessica Hurse provided much valuable information in her presentation on the City of Greater Geelong’s Strategic Planning Program. Geelong is growing – and will continue to grow – at a rapid rate.
Peter Barstow, via the CR Kennedy sponsored session, informed us on Take a Picture, Measure Anything.
ISV was privileged to have Lindsey Brown, President of the Australian Water Association and Managing Director of the Foundry, present on Social Innovation for Sectoral Change. An excellent presentation which provided for individual – and ISV – thought and action.
An innovation, with a focus on diversity, was the President’s Panel. In this very informative and inspirational session Anton Wyatt MISVic ISV Vice-President and President Elect, chaired a panel consisting of Kellie Dean MISVic, Carmen Sederino, Emma Miller-Olsen, and Lindsey Brown. These very inspirational women discussed personal growth, personal brand, leadership shadow, public speaking, and bringing yourself to work.
The panel was organised by the Diversity in Surveying committee of the ISV and the key aims of the committee are to foster supportive relationships and create visible role models within the diverse areas of the profession.
President Kellie Dean took the opportunity to present plaques of appreciation to ISV’s Sustaining Members: Platinum – CR Kennedy, Gold – UPG, Silver – Position Partners, and General – ACSIS Limited, Lightwave Technology, Listech, SPALCO (Australia) and TechRentals.
The Saturday sessions concluded with Peter Sullivan FISVic providing extensive information and data on SRBV Cadastral Projects Checklist and other SRBV Activities.
Thank you to our session chairs – Kylie Franklin, Linda Porter and Glen Franklin – for doing a great job.
Our valued sustaining members – Platinum: CR Kennedy, Gold: UPG, Silver: Position Partners, General: ACVSIS, Lightwave Technology, Listech, SPALCO (Australia), and TechRentals – continued their support by attending as Exhibitors, as did GlobalX Terrain.
And so to the second social highlight of the conference – the Gala Dinner.
The Pier Geelong, again on Geelong’s Waterfront, provided a stunning venue for attendees to witness a glorious sunset across Corio Bay – whilst sampling excellent food and beverages.
Dinner guests were entertained by the sensationally talented Sweethearts.
Emanating from a Matthew Flinders Secondary College music teacher’s vision some thirty years ago, Sweethearts was formed to develop young female musicians whilst improving their band performances each and every year. Comprising up to 30 members and sourced from the Geelong regions secondary colleges, this all female soul band, delivered explosive energy with their refreshing live shows.
Sunday morning saw over fifty delegates and partners head to the Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC) where Doug Gow MISVic gave a presentation – including a walk around – on the RGYC redevelopment project. All gathered at the RGYC for a farewell BBQ lunch.
Partners participated in half day and full day tours, taking up the Mayor’s invitation to explore the area, with very positive feedback received on the tours and very friendly and professional tour guides.
The invitation – and challenge – remains:
We invite you to, and hope to see you “somewhere along the Murray” in March 2020 and, bring a younger (PTA, Graduate, Student) with you!
