Page 995 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018

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music presented by the band of the Royal Military College. A feature of the concert were soloes by the lead vocalist, musician Rachel Shead, and a flute solo by Lance Corporal Elspeth Forster. I thank the RMC Band and its music director, Major Glenn Rogers, for the concert.

On Thursday 15 March I met hundreds of Canberrans at the Seniors Week Expo at EPIC. It was a wonderful day. It was from 10 to 3 at Exhibition Park in Canberra, and brought together more than 120 exhibitors to inspire, inform and connect older Canberrans to groups, activities, and organisations available to them. Just some of the exhibitors that I was able to talk to throughout the day included: the ACT Deafness Resource Centre; ACT Policing; ACT seniors card; Arthritis ACT; Asthma ACT; Australian Hearing; Australian Red Cross; Australian Skin Cancer Clinic; BaptistCare; Brindabella Hearing and Speech Centre; Cancer Council; Capital Chemist; Carers ACT; CatholicCare; Communities@Work; Community Services #1; COTA ACT—of course; Diabetes New South Wales and ACT; Goodwin Aged Care, Libraries ACT; National Seniors Australia; Probus; RSL LifeCare; Salvation Army Aged Care Plus; SCOA, the superannuation commonwealth officers association; Sleep Apnoea Association; Solace ACT; St Andrews Village; St Basil’s; St John’s Ambulance ACT; TADACT; UnitingCare; Volunteering ACT; Woden Community Service;, and YMCA Canberra.

I also mention that the Canberra Times produced a handy lift-out of the events program of Seniors Week and last Friday was one of the highlights of Seniors Week, the presentation of the positive ageing awards. These important awards recognise the outstanding contributions by and for older Canberrans. I was so pleased to have been able to be there for the announcement of the awards, along with my colleagues Minister Ramsay and Ms Le Couteur.

I personally acknowledge the 2018 award winners. The senior achiever award, recognising the outstanding contribution made by an older person to the Canberra community, I was delighted that this was awarded to Beverly Flint from Tuggeranong, who has been a nurse and has committed herself to a lifetime of volunteering.

The intergenerational award recognising a person or group whose work to foster and improve relationships across multiple generations went to Deborah Evans, who is devoting her time to educating Aboriginal people in schools, prisons and in the community.

The age-friendly Canberra award recognising a person or group which works to enhance opportunities for seniors to lead full and satisfying lives went to Philip Piggin, a dance instructor who teaches dance at the Belconnen and Tuggeranong arts centres teaching dance to people living with dementia as part of Dementia Australia’s dance group.

The seniors advocate award recognising an outstanding commitment by a person or group in advocating for seniors went to Norma Sumner, who works at Mirinjani. The transport services award recognising a person or group who in their professional capacity has provided outstanding service to older people went to the Canberra


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