The weather is warming up and the Christmas puddings are hanging in the showers. Another year is upon us and it’s my first festive season as PAA President.
It is so lovely to write about the wonderful achievements made by Pilates Alliance Australasia this year. Lead by Lanette Gavran for the bulk of the year, the new branding and website were rolled out. As Project Manager, Olga Tamara oversaw the branding. It is polished, professional and modern, yet still acknowledges the origins of the Pilates Method. We are confident that the online login and streamlined renewal process will prove to be a great asset for members.
On the whole the website offers a far greater interactive source providing members and the general public with information on all things Pilates. I thank Suzanne Newby and Malcolm Boulter for their magnificent effort in creating this website and to Malcolm for his ongoing IT support throughout the year.
As we work toward regulation within the health industry, particular emphasis was placed on education. Education Officer, Sharan Simmons met with a number of Education Bodies and has pioneered a line of membership by which a teaching body is recognised for their academic excellence and training delivery. In addition, a focus was put on equalising the standard of qualification and continuing education requirements of member levels. This has created specifications that ensure any individual member or studio member is recognised by community and peers.
To underpin this, a new PAA Constitution was written and submitted to the Department of Fair Trading. The writings articulate every aspect of the running and expectations of the PAA as an industry body, and clearly states its philosophies and procedures. I still smile at the memory of long hours spent via Skype working with Mary (glass of wine in hand) in Hobart, Malcolm (plus his cat) in Victoria and me in South Australia (children dancing in the background) as we discussed, read, wrote and then re-wrote pages and pages of documents. We remained a little stunned when ‘the document’ was finally completed -, a little like finding the holy grail!
The PAA has remained actively involved with the Natural Medicine Registry, a collective group of alternative therapies whom are working toward regulation within the health and wellness industry. As complimentary therapies become more widely accepted by the community, it is time that safety and professionalism are maintained through regulation. As we move forward into 2014, Lanette Gavran will continue to attend these meetings in a consultancy role, allowing the PAA to further its campaign for the recognition of members within the health industry.
The 2013 PAA Conference held at Australian Technology Park was indeed a spectacular success. Olga Tamara outdid herself with her amazing event management skills, and all five of our International Presenters spoke of the cohesiveness, warmth and giving nature of the Australasian Pilates community as hosts of this wonderful event. I am sure that Joseph and Clara would be very proud. Planning for our next Conference in 2015 is now well underway.
At the AGM Rachel Reed, our Treasurer, presented her first financial report. Rachel has done a wonderful job in just a short time in collating all of our finances and providing working documents to us all. Rachel has volunteered many hours to this cause for which we are very grateful. And I must say she is one of the funkiest accountants I have ever seen – must be the Pilates influence!
Recently we said farewell to our President, Lanette Gavran. Lan made a tremendous impact on the PAA throughout her three-year tenure as President, steering and motivating the committee into a new era for the PAA. Based on the original works of Sally Anderson and Karen Beattie, in creating an industry body, Lan worked tirelessly to increase the community awareness of this peak body and further develop its roles, policies and procedures in accordance with Government Accreditation. Bravo and thank you Lan!
We also farewell Suzanne Newby, our Media officer who created our successful social media presence. Thank you Suzie for your long distance travel and unusual Skype meeting times due to differing zones between east and west.
Carolyn Antony has continued her role as Public Officer and I thank her for working with us on the dramatic technological changes taking place this year. Carolyn is the familiar voice on the phone for the PAA and always available to help.
Felicia Darbyshire-Pirie has also managed to juggle new motherhood, studio directing and travel in order to work on the committee this year. I appreciate her openness to new ideas and her ability to unite the committee and collate their numerous ideas into a working entity.
And now I welcome Mary McArthur into her new role as Secretary. Our own princess Mary of Tasmania, who has a keen eye for editing and delightful way with words. I know that Mary will perform magnificently in her new role.
Finally, to our two new committee members, Liz Chamas and Marcia Tepermann Shapira. Both have already made an impact on the committee with great ideas on furthering social media and membership benefits. I truly look forward to working with them both in the coming years.
Our plans for next year, in addition to all of the projects outlined above, are to focus on you our members; to ensure that we provide you with your needs and wants; answer your queries; represent you professionally and continue to promote the PAA as Australia’s leading industry peak body.
Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and prosperous festive season with family, loved ones and community. See you all in the New Year.
Jen Guest
PAA President
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