Goodbye Sofia

 Peer Academy

  Trevor Young

 Rug Up Ballarat

LBWR says goodbye to Sofia Fiusco

On May 26, Sofia Fiusco will be leaving LBWR after four and a half years as executive officer.

Our loss is IBM's gain. Sofia will be taking up a role as the P-TECH Australia Industry Liaison Coordinator, which sits within IBM's Corporate Citizenship area. This position will allow Sofia to continue her work in the area of corporate social responsibility and combine her interests of pathways for young people and business/education collaboration, working across IBM and Federation College.

"When I started at LBWR, my motivation was to deepen my understanding about the community in which I live," Sofia said. "During this time, we have spoken about how our community leadership program ‘opens doors and opens minds’. Not only has the EO role opened doors for me and expanded my thinking, it has really opened my eyes to how we can work to bring about social change, advocate around issues that are important in our communities and have a positive impact beyond our own backyard."

"The importance of leading for the greater good is something that we can all stand proud of, knowing that, between us, we are making a difference through what we do, how we care, what we say and what we give. Our ability to ripple out the good messages and model the behaviours that matter for our community does have an impact and it has an even bigger impact when we band together."

The Courier recently interviewed four LBWR graduates - Belinda Burley (2012), Morgan Williams (2015), Gillian Armstrong (2015) and Nikki Foy (2015) - for a National Volunteer Week feature. If you missed the story, you can read it here.

"I have learnt so much during my time at LBWR and with Committee for Ballarat and it’s been a joy and a privilege to have worked with you all," Sofia said.

The recruitment of a new EO is underway and the position will be advertised shortly.

Introducing Peer Academy Ballarat

The professional world is changing. The silo approach to learning, growing and operating a business is being left behind and a world of skillsharing and collaboration is fast becoming a successful approach to doing business.

Do you recognise the importance of being adaptive to change? Want to learn how to prepare for it creatively?

Peer Academy Ballarat aims to inspire and create collaborative thinkers who have the ability to be the driving force behind a new way of learning and developing business in the Ballarat region.

LBWR is very excited to bring this concept of experiential learning to Ballarat.

We currently have local mentors undertaking training in workshop development and design, and they will be ready to start presenting workshops in the very near future.

In the meantime, check out the Peer Academy Ballarat website and Facebook page.

Trevor Young PR Warrior

What: Trevor Young PR Warrior presents Becoming a 'connected' brand: How to cut through and stay relevant in a noisy, always-on digital world.

When: Tuesday, August 2, between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

Where: Ballarat Tech Park Central theatre, 106-110 Lydiard St Sth, Ballarat.

Cost: $30.

Details: New and challenging times require companies and organisations to think differently about the way they communicate with the ‘outside world’. Trevor Young joins the dots of what forward-thinking savvy brands are doing today to communicate and market more effectively with their audience, and provide up-to-the-minute examples of companies and organisations that are purposefully using social technologies and online publishing platforms to increase the level of connection they have with the marketplace and community in which they operate. This presentation is as much around adopting a new marketing and communications mindset as it is about the tools and the technologies being used. It is being presented as part of B31 Ballarat Business Month.

Bookings: Click here.

2016 Rug Up Ballarat Winter Festival

What: 2016 Rug Up Ballarat Winter Festival.

When: Saturday, July 9, and Sunday, July 10, between 10am and 4pm.

Where: Ballarat Mining Exchange, 12 Lydiard St Nth, Ballarat.

Cost: Entry by gold coin donation.

Details: Presented by LBWR, the Rug Up Ballarat Winter Festival encourages people to rug up, step out and warm up in the Ballarat CBD this winter. This year's festival will include:

• a market place bursting with goodies for young and old;
• homemade treats in the Kittelty's pop-up cafe;
• hot potatoes from Goldfields Cafe & Baked Potatoes;
• performances by Curtain Call Performing Arts Studios;
• the Ballarat Children's Art Award presentation (July 10 at 3pm);
• a sculpture garden by Podtastic;
• the Little Adventures interactive forest garden; and
• local children's entertainer Earl Leonard.

To keep in the loop with everything Rug Up, follow the Facebook page.

Check out the Rug Up poster here.