BMLLEN Annual General Meeting – 6 May 2013
The Brimbank/Melton LLEN AGM for 2013 was held on Monday 6 May at WestWaters Hotel in Caroline Springs with approximately 40 people in attendance.
Rose Lewanski, Chair of the BMLLEN, welcomed all those present and the Minutes from the 2012 BMLLEN AGM were then accepted. Rose gave a summary of the Chair’s Report which provided a brief snapshot of the work of the BMLLEN over the previous 12 months, a year in which the BMLLEN undertook a thorough review of operations and governance with the first semester of 2012 seeing the implementation of many of the agreed actions and reforms. Rose also sincerely thanked Christina MacGregor, Managing Director of MacGregor Logistics, who had been Chair of the BMLLEN for more than a decade and who had decided not to seek renomination this year.
Christina was instrumental in establishing the incorporation and governance of the BMLLEN in 2001 and chaired the organisation for over a decade, overseeing a fledgling organisation grow into one which provides strong advocacy for young people and their futures via the partnership brokerage model.
Graeme Brown, Executive Officer gave a summary of his report followed by BMLLEN Treasurer, Brett Luxford (Melton City Council) providing a summary of the finance information included in the Annual Report for 2012.
Graeme thanked departing BMLLEN Committee of Management members Jeff Cooper, Rick Cooper, Ron Miers, Colleen Bergin and Christina MacGregor. A presentation was made to Colleen Bergin (YouthNow) a long serving member of the BMLLEN. Special mention was given to Christina MacGregor and Graeme announced that Christina had been appointed to the inaugural role of Patron of the BMLLEN.
Guest speakers at the AGM were Michelle Marion (Koorie Engagement Support Officer-DEECD), Addie Walsh and Jerome Cubillo (AIME) and Amanda Xavier (Melton Secondary College) who spoke about the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) program.
The BMLLEN is proud to be a sponsorship partner of the AIME Project that is operating in the Melton Schools Network area. Indigenous students from several Melton schools travelled to RMIT in Melbourne to begin the AIME program. AIME provides a structured, dynamic education program that connects volunteer university students in one-on-one mentoring relationships with indigenous secondary school students.
The goals of the program are to increase Year 10 to 12 completion rates and increase university admission rates for Australian indigenous secondary students. Each secondary school student is partnered with a university student that becomes their mentor and works with them in setting goals and planning a pathway to further education.
The Melton program is being run by the AIME foundation in partnership with RMIT, DEECD Western Metropolitan Region Koorie Engagement Support Officer, Michelle Marion, Melton Secondary College, Kurunjang Secondary College, Staughton College, Lakeview Senior College, CALM and the BMLLEN.For further information on the AIME Foundation programs go to: www.aimementoring.com