{"id":324099,"date":"2022-09-18T20:15:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-18T10:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=324099"},"modified":"2022-10-27T14:06:07","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T04:06:07","slug":"dinner-honours-child-safety-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/09\/18\/dinner-honours-child-safety-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Dinner Honours Child Safety Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Kingaroy State High School guidance officer Sean Wicks with guest speakers Tricia Smith and Belinda Thomson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 18, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the busiest – and most dedicated – local workers filled Kingaroy RSL Club’s Tobruk Room recently for the annual Child Protection Week dinner.<\/p>\n

The dinner, which incorporated fundraising auctions and the presentation of local awards, was compered by guidance officer Sean Wicks from Kingaroy State High School.<\/p>\n

Guest speakers included former South Burnett Child Safety manager Tricia Smith, who retired six years ago after a 44-year career in the field.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Current manager Melissa Venn praised Tricia as a “fierce advocate” for child safety workers and the profession.<\/p>\n

Tricia said she had spent the past two years reflecting on her career to write a memoir, which will be published soon.<\/p>\n

She spent the last 15 years of her working life based in Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

Tricia admitted that although there had been bad days, “the highs more than outweighed the lows”.<\/p>\n

The second guest speaker was mental health professional Belinda Thomson, from Evolve Therapeutic Services on the Sunshine Coast.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Belinda has spent more than 25 years working with children and families.<\/p>\n

She has recently released a book, “Your Brilliant Brain”, to fill a gap in resources available to explain the effects of trauma to young audiences.<\/p>\n

The illustrated children’s book is available as a free download<\/a><\/strong> (912kb PDF) from Queensland Health.<\/p>\n

Child Safety Acting Regional Executive Director Leanne Black was then called to the stage to present a string of certificates and awards.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The prestigious Joy Kite Award, presented for exceptional practice with families, was shared by joint winners Elizabeth Kennell (Graham House) and Jacqui Grosskopf (South Burnett CTC).<\/p>\n

The award, first presented in 2012, acknowledges the legacy of the late Joy Kite who started working in the South Burnett with victims of domestic violence in 2003.<\/p>\n

The Susan Jerome Award, named after the former South Burnett CTC Partners In Foster Care manager who died in January 2021, was presented to Helen and Ray Beasley who have been fostering children in the South Burnett for more than 40 years.<\/p>\n

[UPDATED with correction. Originally it was stated that Joy Kite Award co-winner Elizabeth Kennell worked for South Burnett CTC]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
South Burnett Child Safety manager Melissa Venn Tierney and Kingaroy Police Officer-In-Charge Senior Sergeant Dave Tierney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Peta Clarkson, from Goodstart Early Learning Centre, with Cr Danita Potter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Wakka Wakka Elder Eric Law AM with his wife, Aunty Shirley … Uncle Eric did the Welcome To Country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Meleane Moimoi, Selene McLachlan, Melina Weber and Jason Fowler from Uniting Care Child and Family Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Senior Constable Sam Giles, Detective Sergeant Scott Prendergast and Senior Constable Sam McDonald, from Kingaroy police<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Natalie Hewen, from Child Safety, with Ben Biltoft, South Burnett Care<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"\"<\/a>
Child Safety Acting Regional Executive Director (South West) Leanne Black, right, presented the Rookie of the Year Award to Mary-Ann Dawlah (Child Safety)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

\"\"<\/a>
South Burnett CTC’s Kirsten Firman accepted the Leadership Award on behalf of CTC domestic violence court support worker Melita Menere<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Acting Director Black with some of the many nominees for the Susan Jerome Carers Award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Acting Director Black announced that the Joy Kite Award would be shared by two winners in 2022, South Burnett CTC’s Elizabeth Kennell (award accepted on her behalf by Dellese Heit) and Jacqui Grosskopf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Some of the many nominees for the Joy Kite Award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Some of the nominees for the Leadership Award, won by Melita Menere (Kirsten Firman holding plaque, at rear)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Tobruk Room was filled for the Child Safety Dinner with representatives from local support agencies, government departments and volunteers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of the busiest – and most dedicated – local workers filled Kingaroy RSL Club’s Tobruk Room recently for the annual Child Protection Week dinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":324100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,172,3],"tags":[1551],"yoast_head":"\nDinner Honours Child Safety Workers - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some of the busiest - and most dedicated - local workers filled Kingaroy RSL Club's Tobruk Room recently for the annual Child Protection Week dinner.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/09\/18\/dinner-honours-child-safety-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dinner Honours Child Safety Workers - 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