2011
Christmas Lunch — PowerHealth Solutions held their Christmas Lunch on Friday 2nd December, at the award-winning Assaggio’s Ristorante in Hyde Park. For the first time ever, there were so many of staff that we had to book out the entire restaurant. The food was delicious, the company was terrific, the wine was excellent and more importantly, it flowed generously. We played party games which involved various quizzes. After the long lunch, we walked over to the Hyde Park Tavern and partied on till late.
Melbourne Cup — Melbourne Cup started out like a normal day in the office, except that there were horse names and sweep money exchanging hands. At 2:30pm everyone wandered into the lunchroom to watch the race on TV, drink champagne and consume nibbles. The end was a nail-biting finish where no one knew who won as two horses reached the line at the same time! Congratulations to the sweep winners and thanks to Debbie and Carol for organizing the event.
Movember — Once again, Shaun captained the PHS team of Mo Bros to cultivate moustaches throughout November to raise awareness and funds for men's health. Everyone started off clean shaven and developed different styles of mos as the month progressed. The team raised $731.25 in total. Well done, guys!
Westpac Stair Climb — On 14th October, Tammy, Shane, Blake, Nathan were among the 462 participants who ran up the 600 steps over 31 storeys to the top of Westpac House, the tallest building in Adelaide. They only took about 4 minutes each, which was incredibly fast! The PHS team raised $215 for Childhood Cancer. Well done guys!
Day at George's Farm — On the October long weekend, we headed up to George Mitev’s olive farm in Linwood, about an hour’s drive north of Adelaide. Lunch was a feast with lamb on a spit, and BBQ with lots of salads. Staff brought their families along, and the place was just heaven for children, with slippery dips, bouncing castles and trampolines. For the adults, there was even a trail bike! After lunch there were organised games for the children, ending with an epic game of soccer. A very big THANK YOU to the Mitev family for organising such as successful and fun day!
Workstation Ergonomics — In October, physiotherapist Judith Quinn visited the office and showed us all how to use our fully-adjustable office chairs, set up our screens and to organise our desks … all to suit our individual body dimensions. Remember to sit up with your body, knees and elbows making 90-degree angles, and take regular breaks to stretch and exercise.
Corporate Cup — Shane rounded up a bunch of PHS staffers for the Corporate Cup, a fun run designed to improve fitness. Once a fortnight during this 16-week period, they don their running shoes and head down to Pinky Flat along War Memorial Drive in Adelaide city, to run the route along the River Torrens. City teams have a choice of distances from 2.75km, 4.5km or 7.2km, and can choose to run or walk. The annual event attracts more than 1000 workplace teams with some 6,500 participants.
Footy Tipping — The footy tipping season started in March and finished in September. As usual, PowerHealth staff and customers participated in pitting their wits by predicting the winning team each week. There were beaut prizes and we congratulate our winners — 1st Nick Canetsellis, 2nd Henry Wan, 3d Chris Marshall. In last place was Nathan Liascos.
PowerSoft Outdoor Soccer — Captained by George Mitev, PowerHealth staff combined forces with iSoft staff to create the PowerSoft soccer team, to play in the Adelaide Corporate Challenge Outdoor League. They started the first season with an unbelievable 5-0 win, but finished 5th. As Captain George was under pressure to improve things under threat of being sacked, the team tried much harder in the second season, and finished 2nd. What a tremendous effort!
PowerSoft Indoor Soccer — Captained by Simon Harding, the indoor team played at the Adelaide Metropolitan Fire Station, unhindered by bad weather. The team played valiantly but lack of experience, tactics, ideas and leadership showed against tough opposition. By the end of the season, the team had limped to 2 draws but no victories, and finished last. Although the team showed huge promise and were improving in leaps and bounds, work commitments and a short season prevented the league from seeing their best.
User Conference Dinner — The conference was a huge success with a huge user attendance. Staff and customers alike had a great time at the Conference Dinner, rocking the night away with The Deer Johns live band who travelled all the way from Adelaide. We are very proud of our Andrew O'Callaghan the lead singer who wowed the audience and brought them flocking to the dance floor.
PHS Office Drinks Night — on Wednesday 11th May 2011, PowerHealth staff unwound with some drinks and nibbles. With the User Conference looming the following week, some people were combining working at their desks with eating and drinking. Ben Michael, briefly back in Adelaide, regaled the crowd with his tales of Life in Hong Kong, while Yue showed off her wedding pictures. Food was great, the drinks kept flowing and we came away with full bellies.
Deer Johns in Adelaide Fringe — Our very own PBRC development team leader, Andrew O’Callaghan is the lead singer in The Deer Johns band. The band played to soldout shows at the Adelaide Fringe 2011 with everyone bopping away at the front. Patrick was so impressed he booked them immediately to play at the 2011 PowerHealth User Conference in May.
Shoe Boxes of Love — PowerHealth staff joined in with the rest of the country in sending some love, packed inside shoe boxes, to the people affected by the January 2011 Queensland floods. While the flood victims had received the important necessities, eg food, clothes, shelter, etc, they were still lacking the little things to give them hope and a reason to smile.
Tour Down Under — Our very own Evie Karagiannis was a Mum on a Tour Down Under Mission this January, riding 62km in the Tour Down Under Mutual Community Challenge to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Association. This was to support her son Nicholas, who endured years of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with leukaemia as a two-year-old in 2007. Happily, he is now in remission.
Fundraising — each Friday, staff go casual and donate a gold coin. This year's donations have gone to:
Mary Potter Foundation - in addition, Tammy also raised $200 in the Walk for Love fundraising event.
