CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

For the SVP Board of Directors, the 2006/2007 year has been one of changing faces. Following our AGM in October 2006, Barry Kennedy handed over the Chair to myself after dedicating 6 years as SVP Chairman. Over the next few months Directors Max Macdonald, Terry Walker, David Jacobs and Evelyn Pilbeam resigned from the Board to pursue other interests after years of valuable service to SVP. Ian Quartermain spent 7 months as a Director during which he spent a great deal of time producing a preliminary 3 year budget for the Federal Government covering a possible expansion of the Program to other Australian States.

There are some Directors on the Board who have been with SVP for many years and are now looking to hand over their positions to new talent. We have welcomed back a previous Director John Leonhardt and he is joined on the Board by Peter Walton, Mark Bertoli and Meg Somers. While these last three people are new to SVP they bring a great range of experience and expertise to their positions and have already made very considerable and valuable contributions in the short time they have been on the Board.

In early 2007 we saw the retirement of one of our Western Australian Patrons, the Hon. Desmond Heenan. Des has been a Patron and strong supporter of SVP Inc. since 1997. His wise and experienced counsel will be greatly missed by the Board. Due to his first hand experience as a mentor in a school, Des was acutely aware of the importance of the school coordinator in ensuring that the SVP volunteers have a positive experience at their school. Hence, Des was delighted to give his name to an inaugural award which will begin in 2008 inviting mentors and others in SVP to nominate a school coordinator to receive this annual award.

The School Volunteer Program would not exist without its scores of volunteer mentors who are our life blood enabling staff to offer schools a method of assisting their most vulnerable students. SVP would also not be able to exist without the volunteer members of the Board of Directors, willing to take on the rewarding and sometimes challenging tasks that ensure SVP meets all its financial and organisational requirements under the Incorporations Act governing all not for profit bodies.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Christine Gray continues to manage the organisation with the efficiency and a passion to see SVP succeed that has been the hallmark of all of her years with the Program. The Board applauds her dedication and hard work, carried out under often trying personal circumstances during this last 12 months. We were pleased to recognise this dedication by presenting her with an appreciation certificate signed by our National Patron, His Excellency, Major General Michael Jeffery at our 10th Anniversary celebrations.

Everyone in the School Volunteer Program, whether director on the Board, staff members and office volunteers, volunteer co-ordinators and the many wonderful volunteer mentors working directly with students, should be proud of the achievements this Program is having carrying out its Mission of “Assisting schools, through mentoring, to enhance the learning environment of students”

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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT