Board Meeting
- marketing8445
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
February 20 saw the first meeting of the Marist180 Board for the year, held at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill. It was also an opportunity to:
Begin the year with the first of our 30 Year Anniversary celebrations
Have senior leaders and managers from Marist180 join Board and Committee Members for prayer/reflection, a meal and table fellowship
Recognise and celebrate four colleagues who have generously served at Marist180 for more than 25 years respectively: Ida Barra, Bill Kato, Chris Portelli, Tana Whiticker
Hear and recognise the strong support, affirmation and commitment that the Marist180 Board has for the important services and programs that Marist180 staff generously provide
Commission the senior leaders and managers in their ‘Marist’ work and ministries as another year gets underway
Farewell, recognise and express gratitude for the contribution of two Board members as they conclude their time as Directors, Br Anthony Robinson and Steve De Lapp.
As many know, Marist180 traces our roots back to St Vincent’s Boys Home, jointly founded by the Society of St Vincent De Paul, and the Marist Brothers, in 1896. We celebrate 30 years of this current expression, this incarnation of the work, though acknowledge and affirm this long history and heritage. Br Gerald Burns wrote a history of St Vincent’s as it reached the centenary of the Boys Home. Journalist, Ken Scully, offered the following reflection in his review of the book, which featured as part of the reflection on the evening:
‘Almost daily we are assaulted by news stories and documentaries about "street kids", but early in this book we realise that the problem is nothing new. Indeed, it was homeless children that prompted and inspired members of one of the first two St Vincent de Paul Conferences in NSW - St Francis' Parish, Haymarket - to begin the ''simple work" that was to grow into St Vincent's and influence the lives of thousands of boys over the past 100 years.’ 1
Scully reminds us of the enduring challenge of the effective and authentic care of all children and young people, and how many young people have benefitted and grown in, through and from the care of Marist180.
The evening and gathering was rich, enjoyable and a tangible expression of gratitude, to Board Directors, Committee members, senior leaders and managers, for their efforts, energy, service and commitment to the Mission, Vision and Values of Marist180. We thank the many people who brought the evening together and contributed in specific ways, especially Derilene Martin, Adriana Garcia, and the staff at St Joseph’s who provided the welcome and wonderful table hospitality.
Scully, K. (1992). [Book review: Burns, Gerald. Westmead Revisited: A Simple Work: The Story of St Vincent’s Boys Home Westmead 1891-1991 (1991)]. Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 14 (1992), 53–54.