The 2024 Excellence awards and AGM were held at The Raffles Hotel, Applecross on Friday 18 July. It was a great night with a 1920s flapper and gangster theme. The photo booth was a great success and was well used by all. Congratulations to all the winners of the WA awards and we look forward to seeing you at the Conference gala dinner for the National Awards.

At our AGM Jon Valentine stepped down as Chair of the WA committee after four years in the role. Jon has done an amazing job during his time and the first thing I’d like to do as the new WA Chair is thank him for his time and dedication to the IHHC and the WA Branch committee. We’ve had a few challenging times during the last four years, particularly during the Covid lockdowns when we had to switch to Teams committee meetings and virtual events, but we also began our planning of the 2024 Conference which has been a great opportunity for our committee, and Jon has been instrumental in this process. 

Jon is remaining on the committee, and we also now have a committee of 10 in WA. The new WA committee comprises myself, Cheryl Hughes, as Chairperson, Secretary Calum Mcleod, Treasurer Tony Rutherford, committee members Jon Valentine, Carey Bray, Paul Steele, Bianca Guthrie and Geneveve Palmer, and welcomes new committee members Vivek Shetty and Damiano Montagnese.

In other news, Comcater recently hosted a fabulous industry night at their showroom in Balcatta. We had a great time with members and supporters enjoying some amazing food and networking.

Of course our main event is hosting the IHHC 2024 Conference in Perth in November. The WA committee, in conjunction with the IHHC Board and Conference team, have been working really hard to put together an amazing program, including tours and social events.

As you would have seen in the Conference communications, the program has a fabulous range of presenters and presentation topics. We have three fantastic keynote speakers over the course of the three days; Professor Fiona Wood, a burns surgeon and researcher for over 30 years who has pioneered the ‘spray on skin’ for the treatment of burns; Rob Horstman with his experience in mindful leadership; and Micheal Wear from Tidal Moon, an indigenous business focusing on culturally directed sustainability projects in the northwest of WA.

The Conference kicks off with a social event on Sunday 3 November, hosted by the WA Branch committee. This year we’re heading to the new minigolf course with stunning views across the Matagarup Bridge, Optus Stadium and across the river to the city. This will be followed by networking drinks and nibbles at the Camfield bar next to Optus Stadium. More details for registering for this event have been sent out via email. 

Optus Stadium also features as one of our behind the scenes tours, along with St John of God Hospital Subiaco room service kitchen and food manufacturer Sunlong.

The Culinary Competition will again be a hotly contested event, with MC Alastair McLeod. We’ve had a number of entries and we look forward to seeing what wonderful dishes the chefs have created.

Our Conference has something for everyone and we are really looking forward to welcoming you to Perth. Please spread the word to your colleagues and suppliers as this is the one conference you do not want to miss.

If you’ve never visited Perth before, now is your opportunity to see our beautiful city and experience some of what WA has to offer, as well as hearing about issues that matter to our industry, networking with colleagues and enjoying the social events.

See you in November!

CHERYL HUGHES WA Chair