Friday 27 November 2020

Over 130 members and stakeholders tuned into Neighbourhood Houses Victoria's very first virtual Annual General Meeting yesterday, and the new Annual Report reveals that member satisfaction is at an all-time high.

The AGM provided a timely opportunity for the sector to regroup and reflect on a year like no other, and included a pre-recorded address from the Minister for Child Protection and Disability, Ageing and Carers, Luke Donnellan MP. 

You can watch a recording of the meeting further below.

CEO Nicole Battle shares her thoughts on the meeting:

"It was a bit of a moving session, for a number of reasons that I will explain, but I think the tone of the meeting was appropriate as we reflect on what has been a really difficult and challenging year. Emotions will certainly run high for some time to come, as we start to reunite and reconnect with loved ones and community, and as our lives start to resemble some form of normalcy after many, many months.

Here are some of my highlights from the meeting, but I do encourage you all to watch the full recording.

• As her last official duty as Chairperson of NHVic, Gina Dougall chaired a very smooth meeting – no small feat given this is the first time NHVic has held an AGM virtually. On behalf of NHVic and the sector, I want to congratulate Gina for leading us through this historic, turbulent year. Her wisdom, knowledge and advice has been of massive value to me, in particular during a year where heavy decisions have had to be made. She will have something arriving at her door very soon (I won’t spoil it) as a small token of our gratitude and appreciation. I also want to acknowledge the contribution of our other outgoing Board member Liz Bonner – Liz, you are a star and I know the sector will continue to benefit from your eagerness and passion into the future.
• I invited Kathryn Coff from Latrobe University to give a moving speech detailing the struggle many Aboriginal people face in their daily lives. I know this touched everyone in the room, and we must all strive to do better.
• We were also heavily moved by our guest speaker Ben Cryan who’s recovery from a life threatening accident, and subsequent strokes, is nothing short of remarkable. For me, it certainly put things into perspective, and there’s so much from his story that we all can apply to our own journeys towards recovery. As he said, “never give up”.
• We formally announced the election results – big congratulations to the successful candidates. I am confident you will all be great assets to our Board and build on NHVic’s success.

Transparency and accountability are very important to me, so I wanted to note that in our new Annual Report, we have included our complete member satisfaction results (page 22). I believe this is the very first time this data has been published to the membership since it first started being collected annually in 2012. I am very proud to say our member satisfaction is at an all-time high. This is not something I could have achieved alone. The Board and my incredible staff have done amazing work over this last year to keep members supported and mobilised – just check out the incredible stats on pages 13-14.

As you take the time to read through the Annual Report, which details so much of the incredible work this sector has achieved over the last 12 months, please give yourself a pat on the back. We did that. Under the most extreme circumstances. I am so proud to lead a sector which 'never gives up'."

Watch the AGM:

Watch Minister Luke Donnellan's address: