Graphic: Ruth Sandow
It has been a busy time for the Flying Doctor this quarter, with a number of important milestones and events. We have reached new city audiences, welcomed new patrons and celebrated fundraising milestones achieved by our generous supporters.
One of the highlights of the past few months has been the 30th Outback Car Trek, which this year started in Renmark and ended in Darwin. The trek has now raised almost $30 million for the Service since its inception in 1990, and there simply aren’t words to describe our gratitude to the Trek organisers, and to the trekkers. This year’s trek included a ceremony in Birdsville which saw the naming of a Flying Doctor aircraft after the trekkers- a Beechcraft Kingair B350 renamed ‘Outback Car Trek’- a meaningful symbol of our appreciation.
In another exciting development for the Service, we were named the charity partner for Vivid Sydney 2019. Given many visitors to Vivid go on to visit regional NSW this was a fitting partnership, and a valuable opportunity to showcase the work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service to visitors from all over the world. Our merchandise booth outside Customs House was manned by volunteers, including a number from the University of New South Wales, to whom we extend our sincere gratitude. To those of our supporters who made it along to Vivid, we hope you enjoyed the spectacular displays.
Work continues on the new Visitor Experience at our Dubbo Base, and we encourage you to come and visit once it opens. We will keep you posted on developments in future editions of The Flyer.
During the last quarter we have also seen a state and federal election. As the dust settles the Royal Flying Doctor Service will continue to advocate at all levels of government for healthy regional communities. We also welcomed a new Governor, The Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC who we are delighted to announce along with her husband Dennis Wilson became joint Vice-Regal Patrons of our section in early May.
We also took time this quarter to acknowledge our incredible nurses as part of International Nurses Day, on the 12th May. This edition of the Flyer highlights the work of some of our nurses from around the state. We hope you enjoy their stories.
With so much activity underway, it’s timely to pause to recognise and thank our staff and our supporters who make it all happen. Your generosity and passion for bringing services to those in regional rural and remote communities makes our life saving work possible.
Ruth Sandow President, RFDS SE Section
