I could spend the rest of this commentary just listing all the achievements of our members, but I am sure you are wondering what it is that I have been doing, aside from searching for treasures. So here it is. Together with Rebecca Keough, the Centre Manager, and the Executive Group, I have been working on outlining who we are and how we work, and capturing it in a coherent document that will be used as a springboard to further discussion regarding our strategic agenda. We have made quite a lot of progress and after the Governing Committee has a chance to review it, I will be coming to all of you to seek your feedback and involvement in shaping our strategy. We hope to run a number of information sessions to allow most of you to engage in the discussion in person – likely on Tuesday morning, Wednesday lunch time and Thursday late afternoon in late August.  So, watch this space for a meeting request and please come along.

Aside from strategic planning, I have been busy working with many of you in pulling together a grant application to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation to establish the Centre for Cancer and Comorbidities. It was a great opportunity to bring together many collaborators from very diverse disciplines, some of whom had not worked in cancer before. Once again, many of you have worked very hard to shape this application especially the “behind the scenes team” of Rebecca, Sinoula and Michelle. Irrespective of where we get to with funding, this work has really helped us reflect on our strengths and priorities for the future and that effort will never go to waste.

I have also been working with the team from Flinders Foundation on developing a proposal for the Wellness Centre and exploring how we can engage with consumers across research and clinical care. Both of these items were high on the priority list when the Centre first opened and I hope to update you more on these over the next few months.

I hope you will enjoy reading the rest of the newsletter which clearly shows the breadth and depth of the Centre’s endeavors that not even the strongest windchill can stop. Happy reading!

Bogda