Adrian Appo recognised in national Equity Trustees' NFP CEO Awards
Tuesday, 25 October 2005

Adrian Appo and family

Adrian Appo, Chief Executive Officer of the Shepparton based organisation, Ganbina (www.ganbina.com.au ), has been recognised at the 2005 Equity Trustees’ ceremony in Melbourne.

Adrianwas shortlisted and judged runner-up in the Equity Trustees first year achiever award that recognises contribution in the first 12 months as Chief Executive Officer.

First prize in the same category was awarded to Dr Andrew Young, CEO of CanTeen Australia.

Adriansaid he was honoured to have been made a finalist given the calibre and standing of the other candidates.

There were 60 nominations from around Australiafor the award. Adrianwas nominated by the R E Ross Trust, a philanthropic organisation that provides financial support to Ganbina.

Sylvia Geddes, Executive Officer of The R E Ross Trust, said that the Trust had been delighted when Adrianwas shortlisted and had been very pleased to see his achievements rewarded by being runner up.

"Of course we considered that Adrianwas an outstanding candidate and were not surprised at his success. We hope that such recognition will lead to a higher profile for Ganbina and the tremendous results it is achieving for the Indigenous community in the Goulburn Valley region,’’ she said."

Ms Geddes made the point that success for the Indigenous community also meant success for the non-Indigenous community.

“My recognition is the result of the focus and achievements of Ganbina. I hope we can continue to build on the relationships that have led to our success to date,’’ Adriansaid. “The award is not about me, but recognises the commitment of my wife, Robyn, and daughters Megan and Aleasha in allowing me to make the commitment to the work of Ganbina,” he added.

Ganbina was established in 1997 to assist indigenous people to share in the region’s employment and economic opportunities. The GoulburnValleyhas an Aboriginal population of more than 6000 people and an Aboriginal unemployment rate over 70 per cent.

Adriansaid an exciting recent development has been the establishment of a relationship with ANZ Bank that will see the bank contributing to Ganbina’s youth programs.

The award was presented in conjunction with Philanthropy Australia’s second international conference ‘A Wealth of Experience’ at a conference dinner at Rod Laver Arena on October 11 attended by over 700 guests. Four awards were presented recognising outstanding achievement for chief executives working in the Not For Profit and Charitable sector.

To qualify for the awards, Not For Profit organisations have tooperate in Australia, have tax exempt status and turn over more than $500,000 a year.

“It was all a bit of a rush on the night and only now has the huge significance of being runner-up sunk in” said Adrian. “I’m a bit of a car buff so I liken it to one of the V-8 super cars running second in a Grand Prix event; not winning but achieved an incredible result for a race it didn’t even belong in,” he explained. “Against the list of national organisations and their CEOs who were nominated it is amazing that Ganbina, a small indigenous organisation from a regional centre, would be recognised in this way.”