CTC Celebration Day 2007

The Enterprise Center- otherwise known as The Hub' was certainly a hub of excitement on August 10.

CTC employees in all capacities and from all offices throughout the South Burnett enjoyed a coffee, introduced themselves and discussed their apprehensions for the day ahead!

As 10am drew closer, a motorcade of CTC-plated cars took to the road for the short trip to the Kingaroy Town Common Hall where they were greeted by hundreds of brightly coloured balloons and the smiling faces of some members of the Local Management Committee, the overseeing body of South Burnett CTC.

After being issued with name tags and lucky door prize tickets, staff took their seats and the day was officially begun by LMC member and the day's MC Graham Easterby. Still unsure of what to expect, staff members were given few clues from LMC chairperson Howard Leisemann and CTC CEO Nina Temperton as they spoke about their roles within CTC and their hopes for the day. Fortunately, staff weren't kept in the dark about the purpose of the balloons, for they were not merely decorative. Each employee wrote their name on a balloon and introduced themselves to the group. As the number of employees now totals close to 80, this was quite a lot of balloons!

With this brief introduction over, it was time to get to know each other a little more and what better way to promote team spirit and a sense of connectedness than with a construction project!

Groups of four or five were formed, seeing CROSB work alongside Employment, Youth alongside Admin all with one purpose- to assemble either a wheelbarrow, scooter or push bike. The groups got straight into the activity with some members choosing to read the instructions, step by step, and others, finding the afore mentioned path tedious, just used their natural engineering talents. Fortunately, the outcomes an hour later were four fully assembled bikes, four scooters and four wheelbarrows. Add staff's donated grocery items and some balloons and what did we have? A perfect gift for four organisations in the South Burnett including Kumbia Kindergarten, Lifeline Womens Shelter, Junda Womens Shelter and Beemar Yumba the Cherbourg childrens shelter. The activity was a successful exercise in teamwork, an embracement of a variety of skills and personalities and an act of giving.

Some much needed sustenance was next and sandwiches and ice creams in the sunshine did the trick, before staff all said cheese' for a huge group photo.

Heading back inside, the afternoon was to be spent discussing CTC's potential, its successes and its shortcomings. Once again splitting into groups, employees were asked to identify some positive aspects of CTC, along with aspects that needed improving. This task also involved staff brainstorming and collating their ideas for an extension and improvement of services within CTC's vision and mission. Not surprisingly, this discussion revealed a wide range of creative and potentially valuable ideas, many of which will be drawn upon for future endeavours.

This activity provided a beneficial, non-judgmental forum for the proposal of new programs and new ideas thus ensuring the continuation of CTC's valuable and extensive role in the community.

As staff were leaving, arms laded with balloons, chocolates and CTC calculators, all agreed that the first (possibly the first annual) CTC day was fun, productive and all round, a positive experience for everyone in attendance.