Children's Memorial Service CHANGE OF DATE NOW 13/12/2009

On Sunday December 13th at 10am, I will be conducting our third Christmas Memorial Service for families of children in the Sanctuary Gardens of Lilydale Memorial Park.

The service is put on by Lilydale Memorial Park and last year over sixty people attended. One of the many comments that were made after it, was that it was that it was good to know that they weren't alone, that other families too find Christmas a difficult time.

I would like to personally thank Lilydale Memorial Park for putting on the service and invite the many families who have had a precious child die before them (even if they are not buried at Lilydale) so we can honour their love that sustains us, I look forward to sharing that special time with you.

With my warmest regards to everyone,

Robyn

MCEI Conference 2009

On October 30th, I presented a session at the MCEI Conference on 'marketing on and off line' I was very pleased that the attendees felt they had something tangible to take away with them and it was an honour to present with some remarkably talented experts in their fields.

MCEI put on not only a valuable conference but it was an opportunity of like minded people in business to network and to meet people from all over Australia who run successful businesses, from small home based businesses through to those employing many others.

Once again Barbara Gabogrecan (President of the MCEI Australian Chapter) and her husband Peter went to extraordinary lengths to ensure a highly valuable and yet extremely low cost day. Their commitment to MCEI is greatly appreciated by all of us members.

The conference was in conjunction with the MCEI National Marketing Awards which were held later that evening (see below) and we were all inspired by a young woman called Sharni Osborne of Jigsaw Hair Studio who picked up two awards (Youth and Small Business), not bad for a 19yo - well done Sharni!

MCEI Marketing Awards 2009

On Oct 19th, I was a judge in the National MCEI Marketing Awards in October. What an exciting event to be involved in!

The quality of the entries was remarkable!

From home based businesses through to those who have many employees, the creativity and uniqueness made judging a very difficult task.

What did shine through though, was the passion that these entrants have for their businesses. From the smallest to the largest there can be no doubt that their enthusiasm and dedication was equal.

What this experience showed me was that Australians and Australian businesses have a lot to offer the world!

If you would like to see the presentation I made before the announcement of the winners in 2008, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIRx_miQwtY

I'm on TV!

Well, I finally made it to the television screen and now I know why I prefer radio! *laughs* (they told me it would put weight on BUT!)

However, I was given the opportunity to be interviewed by Mike Ryan for HBBA the Home Based Business Association of which I am a member. This was a fabulous opportunity to have a panel discussion about being a home based business but also the opportunity of having my own interview done.

To my own amazement, I was able post it on You Tube and the link is as follows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-V9sEvXK1Q

Do you know about AUSIT?

I was honoured to be the guest speaker at the AUSIT Annual General Meeting. Like most, until I met someone from there, I had no idea what this group does. What a fascinating group of people! Either as an interpreter or translator, this group covers every language imaginable!

It is not often in our lives that we might need one, but as a professional celebrant I'm now thrilled to be able to sound knowledgeable enough to refer my clients to a reputable group. Their website is www.ausit.org

We had a great night in a government initiative building, allowing reduced rents under their Arts progam, regulators get enough bad press, it's nice to see them doing something good!!

One of the things I spoke about was my wonderful experience of working with an AUSLAN (signing for the deaf) interpreter at three funerals I have done.

8th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society in 2008: "Consequence of Loss - Resilience and Complications in the Grief Experience"

What a wonderful experience it was to present at this conference. Meeting researchers from around the world as well as people who also work with people in grief.

My presentation on 'The funeral - a positive (or negative) experience in the early stages of grief' was well received.

As is common with most conferences there were similtaneous presentations and sometimes you wished you were able to split yourself to be present at three presentations at the same time!

At the start of each plenary session, a personal account of a grief journey was given and on more than one occasion there was a great search for tissues by the audience!