The 16th CMPA Annual Dinner
The 16th CMPA Annual Dinner
The 2017 CMPA Annual Dinner was held at The Pier in Geelong. CMPA Member Services Manager, Gavin Moreira, reviews a night to remember.
Members and guests were greeted to a magnificent sunset on the water in Geelong at The Pier as the evening commenced with the AGM at 5pm, allowing the attending members to enjoy pre-dinner drinks in the foyer with the other guests after the AGM wrapped up. CMPA Chairperson Mr Garry Cranny opened the meeting and addressed the assembly with highlights from the preceding twelve months. Motions were passed for all the reports including the Financial Report. There were five vacancies (including that of Chairperson) for Voting Members on the 2017/18 Management Committee for a three year period. All attendees and proxies were in favour of electing Garry Cranny (Dandy Premix Quarries) as Chairperson, Tim Bird (Allstone Quarries), Jason Comben (K&RJ Matthews Quarries), John Mawson (EB Mawson & Sons) and Basil Natoli (BCA Consulting) as Committee Members.
Pre-dinner drinks and delicious canapes were served as guests started to trickle in to the foyer and collect their lanyards and seating arrangements. The room was soon abuzz with guests mingling and enjoying some networking. Dom the Magician kept everyone occupied with his intriguing tricks which continued into the dinner room as he moved around the tables.
The doors opened to the main dining room, which included spectacular views around Corio Bay as guests found their way to their tables where they discovered gifts from our platinum sponsors. Each guest received either a Striker stubby holder from Onetrak or a fancy handbag holder from Crushing Equipment. One lucky guest per table also collected a Hyundai HL770-9 Wheel Loader die cast model which was also provided by Onetrak, and chosen at random by a hidden black dot. A special thank you again to Newcomb Sand & Soil Supplies for our table centrepieces, with three different layers of sand they certainly made an impact.
Once again I was MC for the night and began by welcoming those present and thanking our Sponsors for the night. The tone for the night was to socialise, network, have fun, enjoy the night with your families, friends and fellow CMPA members. With much of the night being informal and relaxed, there were still some formalities which needed to be accommodated. CMPA Chairperson, Garry Cranny was introduced to formally open the night and discuss some of the highlights from the past year and the issues that the industry faces in the future.
He reflected with sadness on the passing of Robin Hocking in December 2016 “an Honorary Voting Member of CMPA from 2002 and active participant of the Management Committee from 2006 to 2013 with six years as CMPA Treasurer.” Condolences were passed onto Michael Hocking and his family.
A formal thankyou was provided to Adrian Town for his valuable contribution and commitment to CMPA since its inception. “Terex Jaques was a foundation Associate Member of CMPA where Adrian was an employee at the time. On your “retirement” you joined CMPA as a Workforce Member on 21 September 2005 where around the same time you commenced as the CMPA Business Development Manager bringing a wealth of experience that you gladly shared with Members and also mentored new staff to the CMPA. Adrian has been (and hopefully will still be) a regular attendee at meetings, workshops and the Annual Dinners. I wish you, Gillian and your family all the best for the future.”
Garry also invited the 16 of 39 Voting members present on the night to come forward to be presented with a 15+years framed certificate of appreciation for being members of the CMPA since inception.
A mouth-watering three course meal was interspersed with a presentation from the outgoing Associate Chairperson Mr Tej Panesar who thanked all members for their support of him and the CMPA over the past five years. He then handed over to Jason Rudge (William Adams) who is the new Associate Chairperson for the next three years.
Jason took the time to thank all of our Associates for their support throughout the year and acknowledged all of our sponsors. He made special mention of the eight Voting Members who also sponsored the Annual Dinner.
In keeping with tradition, the names of all those guests present went into a draw for a door prize. This year’s lucky winner was Joanne Dunoon from Newcomb Sand & Soil Supplies who received a Hotel Windsor gift pack which was generously donated by Crushing Equipment and presented by Mr Tom Bruce.
Silent Auction items were on display at the side of the room, and spirited bidding was conducted throughout the evening. Once the bidding was closed, the winners were as follows:
• Drill Rig Model – Donated by Atlas Copco Won by Bruce McClure from McClure Engineering Enterprises
• Hamper & Model Pack – Donated by Liebherr Australia Won by Tom Bruce from Crushing Equipment
• Jacket & Backpack – Donated by Lincom Group Won by Alishia O’Connor from Lincom Group
• Champagne Hamper – Donated by Oli Vibrators Won by Raymond Walsh from Walsh Ballarat Quarries
• Excavator Model – Donated by Onetrak Won by Lew Dilkes from Crushing Equipment
• Loader Model – Donated by Onetrak Won by Chris Roylance from Roylance’s
• Dressta Model – Donated by Onetrak Won by Luke Walsh from Walsh Ballarat Quarries
• Bottle of Champagne – Donated by TSP Group Won by Mark Thompson from Oli Vibrators
Our feature entertainment this year was ‘Good Faces for Radio’ a local band to Geelong. The band provided a variation of musical numbers for guests to listen too as well as bringing many guests to their feet and on to the dance floor. The evening ended on a high note and many guests decided to keep the mood going and move on to the ‘City Quarter Bar’ upstairs after doors closed at 11:00pm. Once again, a tremendous night was had by all.
A final thank you to our sponsors. Without your support the night would not be able to go ahead.
The 2018 Annual Dinner will be held at The Australian Events Centre, Hyatt Place Melbourne, Essendon Fields the first hotel of its kind in Australia on Saturday 25th August. Located near Essendon Airport only 20 minutes from the heart of Melbourne, an excellent place to plan for a weekend getaway. Put the date in your diaries for next year and make it an exciting weekend away.
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