Social housing events tend to shirk ostentation, and the AHI Awards are no exception. Presented as a round-table, cabaretstyle event, the only extravagance afforded to attendees was the delicious two-course dinner incorporated in the ticket cost; a choice of Frenched lamb rack or chicken breast followed by mandarin panna cotta or chocolate and Cointreau tart (appropriately supplied by Adelaide-based chocolatier Haigh’s).
With bellies sufficiently satiated and glasses frequently refreshed, guests were more than happy to consume the official proceedings that stretched across a three-hour timeframe. This included a number of VIP dignitaries, the likes of Philip Fagan-Schmidt (Executive Director, Housing SA), Mike Allen (Chief Executive, Housing NSW), Noelene Swanson (Senior Executive Director, Remote Housing NT), Ian Winter (Executive Director, AHURI), Joslene Mazel (Chief Executive, SA Department for Communities and Social Inclusion), Senator Sue Lines and Mark Johnston (Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Community Planning and Development, US Department of Housing and Urban Development).
Both the South Australian Minister for Social Housing, the Hon. Tony Piccolo MP, and his counterpart, Shadow Minister for Social Housing, Dr Duncan McFetridge MP, attended this year’s Awards ceremony, although they were accommodated on separate tables. Reports confirm that politics were pushed to one side for the evening, with both ministers cordially acknowledging each other’s presence from the stage.
Acting as Master of Ceremonies was the AHI’s President Tony Gilmour who may have surprised a few people with his quickwit and turn of phrase. Given these Awards will be Tony’s last as AHI President, it was a treat to see him personally relish in the night and make it a highly entertaining experience for all involved.
The real stars of the night, however, were the award winners (see next page) and – of course – their acceptance speeches were the words on which everyone was hanging. Along with a trophy, one-year subscription to HousingWORKS and one-year AHI membership (for individual awards), this year’s recipients found themselves clutching a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. Why? Because the traditional bunch of flowers had been deemed impractical, due to many of the winners hopping
on a plane the next morning.
Every winner – and, in fact, every nominee – demonstrated the great diversity that can be found in the social housing industry. Unfortunately, both the joint winners of the Inspirational Colleague Award were unable to make it on the night but, even in her absence, one of the Tenant Led Initiative Award winners, Stefanie Allen, was able to convey her gratitude and pleasure on receiving the honour via a pre-recorded speech.
In being pronounced victorious, the nominees revealed often untold stories of inspiration that didn’t fail to impress. One such story came from Owen Blackburn of Housing New Zealand Corporation’s Driveway Safety Project – one of the four out of eight gongs collected by New Zealand organisations at this year’s Awards. Owen’s particular project focused on helping reduce the alarming number of preventable childhood deaths that take place every year in domestic driveways. Not surprisingly, his specific experiences struck an emotional chord with the audience and provided one of the more sobering moments of the night.
Once the trophies were distributed accordingly, it was time to mingle with fellow housing professionals and smile for the Awards ‘Snapparazzi’, Colin Evermore from Photographics (see photos opposite), who was arguably the busiest man in the room. Regardless of who took home an award, though, everyone was in good humour with – as they say in the classics – the real winner being the social housing industry itself.
The AHI Professional Excellence in Housing Awards is traditionally held every two years to coincide with National Housing Conference, although you may be mistaken at thinking it’s an annual event after the 2011 presentation was bumped to 2012 due to the Brisbane floods. There’s been some conjecture over changing the awards to an annual event, although the jury is still out on that decision. Given the popularity of the Awards and the excellence within the social housing industry, there might be cause to celebrate more frequently.
We will see...
