We won!

OMG OMG OMG!

My delight was next level when I attended the Australasian Reporting Awards last Thursday and the judges announced we’d won a Special Award for Online Reporting!

It followed our 2024-25 Annual Report taking out a Silver Award in the Public Administration (State) category.

The Silver Award saw our organisation’s name listed among others on a big screen, with a certificate handed to us at our table. But the Special Award meant going up on stage to collect a trophy!

Oooo-er!

My smile was sooooooo huge. I have rarely won anything in my life apart from an occasional free lottery ticket, so it was very exciting.

It was also rewarding to have improved on last year’s performance, where we received a Bronze award and were a finalist in the Online Reporting category.

Last year, the awards ceremony was held in Melbourne and was followed the next night by a dinner with DD’s colleagues. They couldn’t believe there were such a thing as annual reporting awards, but there is! In fact, they’re such an institution that they’re celebrating their 76th year.

This year the Australasia Reporting Awards were held at the Shangri-La Sydney. They were ostensibly black tie, but from experience I know that black tie is a very broad church these days.

One award winner even got up on stage in SHORTS. They were tailored shorts, but still …

The ceremony started at 6.45pm and I left organising my outfit until the perilously late time of 5.15pm. I don’t go anywhere requiring evening attire these days, so my options were limited.

I dug out a black frock I bought 22 years ago when I was heavily pregnant with the 4.3kg eldest. It was a little confronting to discover how well it fitted 58 year old not-pregnant me …

What to do about shoes? I found an old pair of slingbacks under the bed, which would normally not cut the mustard with me, as I have a thing about not wearing stockings with open shoes.

But the weather was cool and my legs were old and pale, so I had deemed stockings mandatory.

The shoes were the closest thing to closed with a heel that I had. I initially tried them on with thick tights. They looked terrible. I struggled into thinner tights and they still didn’t look great, but time was running out.

I was already getting blisters before I reached the bus stop. (At the end of the night I walked home from the bus shoeless and wrapped my damaged toes in Band-aids for bed so the sheets didn’t catch on the injuries.)

I went along with the Annual Report’s designer, Jasmin, and May, who was the engine room of its production – it literally wouldn’t get done without her multi-tasking. I just flitted around writing stuff and being opinionated about the cover.

The venue was packed with excited annual report teams and the food was pretty good for a big event, including beetroot gravlax trout, cucumber veloute, goat’s cheese mousse and bail oil for entre; lamp rump with pea and feta puree, snow fungus, pomme Anne and jus for main; and shared dessert canapes.

Plus, there was an affogato cart at the end of the proceedings … Frangelico with ice cream … mmmmmmm!

I also had a quick catch up with one of my long-time blog followers, Anna, who just happens to be an annual report guru.

Such a lovely woman. And such a small world.

Great night. Go us!

Song of the day: Queen “We are the champions”