Thursday 7 November 2019

The Aussie Hero Quilts Annual Thank You Dinner.... my speech.....


I have had a number of requests to publish my speech from Saturday night so here it is.   
As it would be a bit boring without some pictures, I have included some of the people mentioned where I had photos. 



Good evening and welcome to the eighth Aussie Hero Quilts Annual Thank You Dinner.

Please allow me to extend a very warm welcome to our distinguished guests,

Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Vice Admiral David Johnston AO, RAN and Mrs Belinda Johnston,


Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, AO, RAN and Mrs Jan Noonan
 

Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld AO DSC, and Mrs Louise Hupfeld



Deputy Chief of Joint Operations, Rear Admiral Jaimie Hatcher, AM, RAN


Former Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, AO, CSC and Mrs Rhonda Davies



Regimental Sergeant Major-Army, Warrant Officer Grant McFarlane OAM and Mrs Tracey McFarlane


WOFF-AF, Warrant Officer Robert Swanwick and Mrs Lisa Swanwick


I’d would also like to acknowledge the support of our recipients, the fabulous Lancer Band.



To all the recipients and friends, thank you for coming along tonight to celebrate the achievements of the Volunteers of Aussie Hero Quilts in the last 12 months. 
We have the best volunteers in the country, without whom Aussie Heroes would be nothing. Could you please give them a special round of applause?

I would also like to welcome a very special guest....the very first First Aussie Hero sits among us. They have chosen, for a variety of reasons to remain anonymous for now, but this is their first attendance at one of our dinners and I am thrilled they are here.  If they had not trusted me in the first place, none of us would be here tonight.

No event like this ever comes together without a lot of hard work. There will be more thank you’s later in the evening but for the first time ever, this year I have had an organising committee.  Without their hard work I would have come very close to not holding a dinner. 

Susie, FLTLT Kym, myself and Michelle

Susan, thank you for your efforts to make sure we got the best deal and the lowest price without compromising the quality and for everything you have done today.

FLTLT Kym, you’re not a recipient, yet, but you saw the value of what we do and volunteered your services. With your dedication, staff skills and your knowledge of Defence, you were the driving force of so much that will ensure tonight’s success.

Michelle, who works with my husband, but if that wasn’t enough you took me on too. If you all think I’m organised then you ain’t seen nothing til you meet the organisation ninja. Her attention to detail and commitment to excellence has also contributed to tonight in more ways than one in spite of my aversion to all things Budget and spreadsheet.

Their involvement has been fundamental to the success of this evening and we would not be here tonight if they had not stepped up and offered their assistance.

On the tenth of October 2011 I sent off the email that started Aussie Hero Quilts (and Laundry Bags) on its way.  From that first batch of fifteen laundry bags and twenty-five quilts came the organisation now commonly known as Aussie Heroes or AHQ.

This is our eighth year of operation and we have continued to maintain a policy of under-promising and over-delivering as we have kept up with the requests of our troops deployed to the Middle East, our peacekeepers serving with the United Nations, and more recently managed to support our submarine force, our patrol boats and our rifle companies in Butterworth.

Last year we achieved many large scale projects and this year we sent over 800 laundry bags to service men and women in Townsville who put their own needs aside to look after the needs of their community, 



but when I think of this year’s most meaningful quilts and bags I think of the individual gifts that don’t necessarily make our blog and social media pages because their stories are too personal and some are too painful.  There are too many to share but here are just a few.

We have created more than a dozen Fallen Warrior Quilts this year. One for the family of Kiwi soldier, Major Aaron Couchman, who died during a posting with us at Joint Operations Command.   It was important to let his family know that his Australian colleagues and friends, and indeed the Aussie public, cared.  


One is also being prepared for the family of a member who recently passed away suddenly at work.

Another Fallen Warrior Quilt went to a little girl whose father died suddenly and it bears a message saying “Always remember Daddy loves you Midgie.”  



Some were made in memory of members who had passed away in previous years, but whose loved ones still deserve to know that we appreciate and remember their service.

We have also created many quilts for compassionate reasons. Life can change in a heartbeat with a medical diagnosis or a tragic accident.  Some of our recipients are dealing with, or have dealt with, serious injuries, surgeries, breast cancer, brain tumours, bowel cancer, 


leukemia, stroke, and of course, PTSD.  Most recently I presented a quilt to a Navy veteran who underwent the below knee amputation of his right leg as well as the big toe from his left foot.


Sonya is an army veteran whose knee replacement surgery became an amputation when she contracted a hospital borne infection. She competed proudly in the Invictus Games in Sydney last year, but when I messaged her just before Christmas, she had just been Medically Discharged and was really questioning her worth.  In early January she reached out to me because she was in hospital having taken an overdose. By February she was in hospital in Penrith, a long way from her home in Darwin, under-going surgery to her amputated knee to repair nerve damage from a fall.  Sonya ended up being in hospital away from family for about three months, with very few visitors, undergoing repeated operations to clean out her wound after she contracted a hospital borne infection. 


I was really concerned for her mental state so decided we had to do something.  First came a quilt to brighten her room, then a visit from one of our volunteers. Next, one of Pennie’s personalised laundry bags to remind her of her bush home and then an assortment of care packages.  In Sonya’s words “ It’s been a very long and trying 3 months where at times I felt very lonely and forgotten about.  The efforts & kindness you all share really does make a difference. I am going home happy, feeling loved and cared about. You have made me smile from deep inside.”

We have recognised long term serving members who have not had the opportunity to deploy, as well as veterans of WWII, and the Vietnam era. On Vietnam Veteran’s Day this year one of our recipients was reunited with a course mate who recognised his service details embroidered on the quilt that hung down the back of his wheelchair. 
 They were able to reconnect and reminisce just weeks before he passed away.   We can do what the Department of Defence and no corporate entity can do. We can create personal, individual gifts that our sailors, soldiers, airmen and airwomen can use on a daily basis.  Each quilt and bag is a tangible reminder that someone, other than their family and friends, really cares about them and appreciates their service.

To date we have given more than 11000 quilts and almost 23000 laundry bags to members of our Defence Force, including our Defence Civilians.

We remain the only organisation anywhere in the world that looks after its country’s serving members in this manner.   Our volunteers number between 150 to 250 ......a surprisingly small group which demonstrates amazing generosity and commitment, and who punch well above their weight when it comes to the volume of output... but also... the impact they have on the morale of their recipients... and importantly, the mental health of those they touch with their gifts of homemade, lovingly constructed quilts and laundry bags and accompanying personal letters.    

We are a 100% volunteer organisation and I believe we have the best volunteers you could ask for.  Without those of you who sew for us... both here tonight, and all the others who cannot be here ... we would achieve nothing.  Tonight is YOUR thank you dinner.

Can I please impose on our uniformed members here to meet as many of our volunteers as possible so they gain the best possible understanding of the impact their efforts have.

Every organisation has costs; packaging and postage, printer paper and ink cartridges, the upkeep of our quilting machine, fabric, batting, even Timtams and Minties to go in the parcels.  These things cost money and without the support of many individuals, many of whom are deployed, as well as organisations such as the Ramsgate RSL, Australia Post and Kiah PTY LTD we would not be able to continue.

Then there are those who have provided sponsorship specifically to make sure tonight is a success.  Navy Canteens, CAPT David, Chaplain Troy, Chaplain Mark, The Defence Bank, Nova Systems, The Latham Club RAAF Tindal, The Officers Mess RAAF Tindal, The Officers Mess RAAF East Sale, and SQNLDR Chris V.

I would also like to thank CAPT Phill Henry, RAN and his team.  Phill has provided ongoing counsel and friendship to me, particularly over the last 12 months, in relation to the way ahead for Aussie Heroes. Notably Phill and his team, LCDR Ben Robinson and CPO Michael Wratten, have been instrumental in securing valuable and much needed corporate support.


We have the promise of a new and exciting tomorrow.  The road to a new future for Aussie Heroes has been slow and deliberate, with some direction changes along the way, but now I am confident that we can move ahead with the right guidance.   Deloitte Australia, one of the "Big Four" Australian accounting organizations and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals, has come on board and have agreed to use their pro bono services to enable us to complete our journey towards registered charity status. 

Our focus will be on longevity and sustainability, rather than becoming a bigger organisation.   I intend to maintain as much of the personal touch and heart as is possible whilst drawing on the experience and resources of those on the board.  We have exciting times ahead.

We have a live auction later in the evening with some wonderful items on offer. We also have a number of terrific silent auction items as well as the raffle.  Please take a moment to look at the prizes on offer. 

Every day our mission is to make sure that OUR Defence Force members know we are proud of them and that we care.  We have been told that receiving an Aussie Hero Quilt or laundry bag is a deployment milestone.  We put smiles on the faces of our sailors when they feel a long way from home. When times are tough our quilts and bags remind our soldiers that they are not alone.  We aim to make sure our airmen and airwomen know that their service is something to be proud of, that it matters, and that we care. Tonight your mission, and I hope you will accept it with gusto, is to help us to achieve that with every single generous bid you make. Please partner with us in this mission and bid boldly. 

Before I hand back to our fabulous MC, I have a surprise for you. We make the quilts and bags and send them off and rarely do we ever see a recipient receive their gift, but tonight I am able to make that happen and you will see genuine surprise as this recipient has absolutely no idea that his wife and some of his staff have been conspiring with me for some time.



Could Warrant Officer Rob Swanwick please come forward. Rob has been the Warrant Officer Air Force for the last three years.  In that time he has been a great supporter of Aussie Heroes and has attended every end of year dinner.  Rob is due to hand over that role to Warrant Officer Fiona Grasby in the coming days and it seems only fitting that we recognise his service and his friendship in an Aussie Hero way.



Till next time.... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!

Jan-Maree xx






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