Leanne Coleman: happy birthday!
Because of her industry, thousands of people know the name ‘Leanne Coleman’. It is the one at the foot of so many e-mails from the National Rural Health Alliance; the name to contact about the biennial conference; and one of those on the phone when enquiries are made.
Whoever you are – tinker, tailor, soldier, spy – be aware that today is Leanne’s birthday and spare her a thought.
Leanne has worked for the NRHA for nearly 2 decades and has been a critical part of its culture, its industry and its effectiveness. Whatever future the organisation has, credit and thanks should be given to Leanne for all she has contributed to its establishment and to its early life.
Leanne Coleman began her working career as an assistant to senior staff in the Department of Primary Industry. She first hit her straps as a member of the personal staff of John Kerin, who can still claim to be the longest and tallest Minister for Primary Industry there has yet been. It was probably in that role, “doing Kerin’s diary”, that Leanne’s natural courtesy and attention to detail first came to the fore. A Minister’s diary secretary stands like Horatius at the Bridge between a busy parliamentarian and all of those who seek his or her attention.
By these means, and thanks to her natural manner, Leanne learned to treat everyone with whom she came into contact as an equal and as someone deserving of her close attention. As a result, the NRHA has a well-deserved reputation for being open, responsive and egalitarian in its dealings with the world. It would have been Leanne who remembered to invite the Minister for Health as well as Branko and Anna, our long-serving office cleaners, to my farewell in Old Parliament House.
For many years Leanne was Office Manager at the NRHA and in this capacity learned a great deal about many things and a little about every thing relating to the organisation and its business. She then took over from Lyn Eiszele as Conference Manager and in this position has been the mainstay of the continued development of what is surely the NRHA’s best-known and highest quality service to the rural and remote health sector. (Leanne would be disappointed if I let this opportunity pass to remind you that the 14th is being held in Cairns next April: you have until 30 September to get your abstract in! http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/14nrhc/homepage)
Leanne is ‘quintessentially Queanbeyan’: modest, functional, still growing and of great service to the nation’s capital! (Message to ex-Mayor Overall: I am now available to the promotional activity of the new Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. And I hope the boys will be playing with the Razorbacks again next summer?)
Leanne is a caring and assiduous daughter to Lionel who has not known her for many years now, but who still boxes on. She is a wonderful mother to Brad, Lizzie (21 last week) and James. And she is the best partner Lindsay could wish for, given his intention to bat on carefully and not risk dismissal. She loves her dogs, is a passionate advocate for social justice and proper remuneration, and a protector of nature and the natural world.
To me Leanne has simply been the best colleague imaginable. She sets high standards for herself and those around her, values work which has social and community utility, and is always willing to go the extra miles.
As well as all of the work at the Alliance with which her name is publicly associated, Leanne is also the one behind the organisation’s tweeting. Some of you might be surprised to know that “I taught her all she knows about Twitter over 10 years ago” (more on that another time!) but since then, behind the scenes, she has been the driving force in the Alliance’s adoption of social media.
It is therefore appropriate that I should thank Leanne for all she has done, and greet her on this special day, through this medium.
Happy birthday, Leanne Coleman, and love from all of us.
