The 63rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE & 64th National Council Meeting of the Federation was held at the Copthorne Hotel in Queenstown during the weekend 26-28 March 2010.
Friday 26 March
 Dr Bob Smith, President of the Otago/Southland Society which, together with the Federation, co-hosted the Conference, introduced Mr Alan Brady, pioneer of the wine industry in Central Otago. In his address titled "Visions, Dreams and Making Things Happen", Mr Brady spoke about his early life as a broadcaster and his later successful venture into the wine-making industry. The President of the Federation, Mr Wally Garrett, thanked Mr Brady and welcomed delegates and observers to the 63rd Annual Conference.
Alan Brady (left) and Wally Garrett (right)
  
Saturday 27 March
The business session of the weekend took place on Saturday morning, with matters of topical interest receiving plenty of discussion and debate. Officers elected for the forthcoming year were Wally Garrett as President, Simon McMillan as Vice President and Lorraine Peacock as National Coordinator/Treasurer. The four Executive Committee positions were filled by Janis Bourne, Lee Cook, Ava Thomas and Wayne Vass.
  
Educational and information sharing sessions followed on Saturday afternoon. Libby Blackley and Ross James from Adaptive Snowsports gave an interesting talk and visual presentation and this was followed by a session on "Challenges Facing Limb Services in New Zealand" by Mervyn Monk, Chief Executive of the Artificial Limb Board.
   Earth Hour being observed
Earth Hour being observed
A good social evening followed, with entertainment provided by Richardson Jazz, and on Sunday morning, delegates and observers were treated to a coach sightseeing tour of Queenstown and Arrowtown.
 
(Photos courtesy of Jane Smith)
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The 62nd ANNUAL CONFERENCE & 63rd National Council Meeting of the Federation was held at the Brentwood Hotel in Wellington during the weekend 20-22 March 2009.
Speakers during the weekend included:
- Dr Sarah Dean who addressed the meeting on two of her research topics: low back and chronic pain, and health psychology as applied to rehabilitation.
- Sharon Downes of the Health and Disability Advocacy Service outlined her role as an advocate in acting for individuals and explained the process in making a complaint.
- Fran Humen, a Clinical Psychologist, and Les Eldridge, an upper limb amputee, spoke on "A Modern Cognitive Approach to Phantom Pain; an Extension on Current Literature".
- Ray Binet, Manager of the Wellington Limb Centre, and Christine Bonallack, a wound healing consultant, spoke about stump breakdown and skin problems.
 At the end of a productive and enjoyable weekend, Paralympian Paula Tesoriero gave an inspiring motivational talk on the lead up to and her success at the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008.
 
  
Officers elected for the forthcoming year were: Wally Garrett (President), Kerry Wilfred-Riley (Vice President), Lorraine Peacock (National Coordinator/Treasurer), and Lee Cook, Colleen Mundt, Ava Thomas and Wayne Vass (Committee members).
The 61st ANNUAL CONFERENCE & 62ND National Council Meeting of the Federation was held at the Grand Chancellor Hotel in Auckland during the weekend 4-6 April 2008.
Friday 4 April
Mr Ken Taylor, Deputy Chairman of the Mangere Community Board, officially opened the conference and this was followed with "Meet and Greet" when there was an opportunity for delegates and observers to exchange ideas and share experiences of what was happening in their region.
Saturday 5 April
 The business session of the weekend followed the usual pattern, with matters of topical interest receiving plenty of discussion and debate. Officers elected for the forthcoming year were Bob Smith as President, Kerry Wilfred-Riley as Vice President and Lorraine Peacock as National Coordinator/Treasurer. The four Executive Committee positions were filled by Janis Bourne, Lee Cook, Colleen Mundt and Ava Thomas.
During the afternoon, Tim Dempsey from Sailability and Wayne Johnson from NZ Amputee Golf gave stimulating talks and video presentations on their respective sports.
 
Saturday evening was an opportunity for the 70 attendees to relax and dance to the music provided by Tom Sharplin and his band.
Sunday 6 April
 A panel consisting of NZ Artificial Limb Board personnel, viz. Graeme Hall (Chairman), Geoff Lamb (orthopaedic surgeon), George Mitchell (General Manager), Paul Bargh (Manager of the Auckland Limb Centre) and Trudy Perkins (Clinical Prosthetist) gave presentations and answered questions from the floor. This provided an opportunity for some lively discussion and debate.
All in all, a stimulating and enjoyable weekend!
The 61st National Council Meeting of the Federation was held at the Brentwood Hotel in Wellington during the weekend 23-25 March 2007. This special occasion marked the60th JUBILEE of the Federation. Some highlights of the weekend were:
Official Opening - Friday 23 March at 7.45 p.m.
This took the form of a Wine & Cheese Evening. The President, Dr Smith, welcomed to the meeting Their Excellencies, The Honourable Anand Satyanand and Susan Satyanand.  His Excellency spoke about the history of the Federation over the last 60 years and the valuable role it had played in advocating for and supporting amputees. As Patron of the Federation, the Governor General announced the Conference open and wished the meeting well in its deliberations during the 60th Jubilee weekend.
The Guest Speaker, the Hon Ruth Dyson, Minister for Disability Issues, then spoke about Rehabilitation and Participation. Ms Dyson concluded by encouraging conference participants to share in discussion and debate. She thanked the Federation for the invitation to speak and wished it a happy 60th birthday.
  Informal discussions then followed, with Their Excellencies and Ms Dyson mingling with the 50 Federation members and guests who were present.
National Council Meeting - Saturday 24 March 9 a.m.
  There was good healthy discussion and debate by the delegates and observers representing the nine District Amputee Societies of the Federation. Bob Smith was re-elected as President, as was Noel Dolamore as Vice President and Lorraine Peacock as National Coordinator/ Treasurer. The Executive Committee positions were filled by Janis Bourne, Lee Cook, Michelle Simpson and Kerry Wilfred-Riley.
  
  
Fifty Federation members and invited guests took part in the JUBILEE DINNER on Saturday evening. Life Member Lorraine Peacock cut the 60th Jubilee cake and Life Membership of the Federation was presented to Lee Cook and Jennifer Thompson.
  
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning were taken up with seminars by contributors. These educational and information sharing sessions were both thought-provoking and interesting. The Jubilee Weekend concluded with lunch at 1 p.m. on Sunday 25th March.
(Photos courtesy of Jane Smith)
1 Annual Conference Item
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