General News
31 October, 2019
Cooinda looks back on year’s success
COOINDA has celebrated a number of long-serving staff members during its recent annual general meeting (AGM).
COOINDA has celebrated a number of long-serving staff members during its recent annual general meeting (AGM).
The Terang disability support service held its AGM last week and presented a range of service awards, including:
Peter Conroy – 10 year service award;
Bernadette Place – 10 year service award;
Clare Neal – 15 year service award;
Caroline Smith – 15 year service award; and
Sharon Lock – staff recognition and appreciation award.
Cooinda’s executive team also revealed its new logo and branding during the AGM.
Local graphic designer Jacob Densley created the logo.
Cooinda also released its annual report for the 2018/2019 period, which highlighted a number of growing areas, including welcoming 38 new staff to boost the total number of employees to 138.
The annual report also reflected Cooinda had welcomed 16 new participants into the fold, increasing the total number of participants to 107.
Commercial Hotel proprietor Les Cameron was one of the key speakers during the AGM and spoke about the importance of community engagement.
Another key speaker was Margaret Dillon, who spoke about how beneficial Cooinda’s services were for her son Sam.
Cooinda chief executive officer Janice Harris said one of the executive’s main aims was to create a fun and welcoming environment for staff members and participants.
“We aim to provide a positive place for people to come, either as a participant or as a staff member, to be part of a welcoming community which is a fun place to be,” she said.
“One of the best ways to do this is to have a good organisational culture where staff know what is expected of them and they have a supportive network across the organisation.”
General manager Phil Hose said the success of Cooinda was due to strong connections across the disability support service network.
“Cooinda is a people business and relationships are everything to our day-to-day work,” he said.
“Both internally and externally with participants, colleagues, families, other providers, the NDIS and the many stakeholders that intersect, relationships are critical.”
In terms of Cooinda’s financial performance during the 2018/2019 financial year, the corporation recorded $8.5 million in revenue and a surplus of $199,000.
The surplus allowed the corporation to purchase a new residential unit.
Ms Harris said as part of a five-year strategic plan, Cooinda intends to engage a consultant to help develop a property master plan to assess current assets and plan for future needs.
Other areas of growth included the Little Acorn Cafe which provided 22 participants and two school students the opportunity to develop hospitality skills and the Farm, Recycling and Maintenance program.