We held our highly anticipated 10th anniversary President Lunch on Friday 13 October 2023. The event was hosted beautifully by our Master of Ceremonies Jessica Adamson, who truly brought a special touch to the afternoon.
The day started with a brief industry overview by Matt Sando (MPA President) outlining some of the good work the SA government are doing in stimulating capital works, new hydrogen initiatives as well as some important member issues moving forward.
As our first Guest Speaker, we thank the Hon. Blair Boyer MP, Minister for Education, Training, and Skills for his valuable insights. The trade shortage is a crisis which has been decades in the making, and it was beneficial for our guests to hear about what’s being done to help us sort it out.
We were also joined by the Hon. David Speirs MP, Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Connie Bonaros, Member of the Legislative Council. We thank them for their valuable time in attending and mixing with the crowd.
Awards
It's always an honour when we get to present our Apprentice Awards, including our Work Health & Safety Award and our Most Outstanding Apprentice Award.
It was wonderful to celebrate our apprentice award winners and future leaders of our industry. We'd like to congratulate:
- Liam Ramsay from Plumbing & Pipeline Solutions - Master Plumbers SA High Achiever 1st Year Apprentice 2023 (Joint Winner)
- Cody Ryan from BH Plumbing - Master Plumbers SA High Achiever 1st Year Apprentice 2023 (Joint Winner)
- Domenic Pirrotta from DPS Distinctive Plumbing Solutions - Master Plumbers SA High Achiever 2nd Year Apprentice 2023
- Sam Laubsch from Hindmarsh Plumbing - Master Plumbers SA High Achiever 3rd Year Apprentice 2023 (Joint Winner)
- Brayden Stringer from Connekt Plumbing - Master Plumbers SA High Achiever 3rd Year Apprentice 2023 (Joint Winner)
- Adam Jackson from BSM Plumbing and Gas - Master Plumbers SA High Achiever 4th Year Apprentice 2023
Well done to Dylan Jones from Need Trade Services, for winning the Master Plumbers SA Work, Health and Safety Award 2023.
Finally, congratulations to Aaron Beatty from Nagle Plumbing & Mechanical, taking out Master Plumbers Outstanding Apprentice Award 2023.
Jack Holder Medal
Our Jack Holder medal is the highest honour our apprentices can achieve. John 'Jack' Holder was a plumbing industry leader and former President of Master Plumbers SA and Master Plumbers Australia. He received an Order of Australia Medal in 2012 for his service to the building and construction industry, to professional organisations and to the community of Noarlunga.
Previously known as the MPA Gold Medal, we renamed the award in his honour in 2021. Nominations for the Jack Holder Medal are from registered training organisations PEER and TAFE SA, and finalists are interviewed on their technical knowledge by a panel.
We’d like to congratulate our Jack Holder medal finalists Adam Jackson, Charlotte Haar and Nathan Eckert. Our finalists are all future leaders of the plumbing industry, and we look forward to seeing their careers progress.
A special congratulations to our Jack Holder medal winner, Trinity Ellacott. Trinity is the first woman to win the Jack Holder medal, and was assessed by a panel to have the best technical knowledge of plumbing standards and installation techniques.
Milestones
We had the privilege of acknowledging our Milestone Members during the event. We’ve been a plumbing association since 1908, and it’s our members who make us what we are. We're so grateful to our 25 Year members and our 50 Year members, who joined us on stage.
Starting with our 25 Year members, we'd like to thank Paul McEntee from MacPlumb Plumbing Services, Tom van der Jeudg from Seaview Plumbing Services, Nick Lucivero from Rehau and Scott Kelly from Scott Kelly Plumbing & Gasfitting. We'd like to also acknowledge Garrard Plumbing and Woodsy's Plumbing Service, who were unable to join us on the day.
For our 50 Year Members, we were joined on-stage by Glen and Peter Gillard from Gillard Plumbing Service and Ben Harrington from Hindmarsh Plumbing Services Pty Unfortunately our other 50 Year Milestone Members T G & A V Booker and Tischendorf Plumbing were unable to attend, but we appreciate their incredible loyalty to our organisation.
Guest Speakers
After our awards ceremony, we were treated to an amazing speech from Dr Richard Harris SC OAM. Complete with photos from the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, Dr Harris’s story was awe-inspiring. Our attendees were treated to a Q&A session with Dr Harris, which was a really rare opportunity for people to ask some questions to the world-famous diver.
The afternoon was brought back into swing with Peter Rowsthorn’s stand-up. His mile-a-minute delivery and movement around the stage provided a lot of energy for attendees.
Auction
Lastly, we held an auction to raise funds for Xavier Pudovkin's treatment for neuroblastoma.
Our first auction item was a signed match ball from SANFL Glenelg Football Club, donated by Field Officer and SANFL Glenelg Football Club assistant coach Sam Baulderstone. Our second auction item was a signed match ball from the AFLW Adelaide Crows, donated by Adelaide Crows Vice Captain Sarah Allan. Our third auction item was a signed 2022 Crows AFLW guernsey #39, worn by Vice Captain Sarah Allan in all home games for 2022 Season 7.
The auction raised $1720, and we thank our bidders for their contribution.
Sponsors
We’d like to thank our partners who made the event possible, starting with our Major Sponsor, Australian Gas Networks. We'd like to thank our Platinum Partners MEGT Australia and Caroma, as well as our Key Partners Milwaukee Tools Australia, Reece, St Patrick's Technical College and Lynch Meyer Lawyers. Finally, thanks to our Award Partners ATEC, SIMPRO, Portable Long Service Leave SA, Tradelink, Rheem, Cbus Super and CITB South Australia.
Thanks to Jon Burke for his expertise in delivering a well-rounded visual display during the day and once again Jess for her involvement as MC.
Our event was beautifully captured by Blue Razoo Photography and Jon Burke Creative Digital Video.