RAWCS Rover Nov 2017 15 November RAWCS Rover | Page 4

Miriam Jacka receives the Prestigious PROFESSOR BILL GIBSON LEN AVARD Award At our August quarterly meeting in Kiama the Len Avard Award was presented to Miriam Jacka by Graham (Morph) Morphett. As an in- troduction to the award Morph advised that the award was first presented in 1996 and has been presented every year since then. This year there were nine nominations. For the nomination to be chosen a professional pro- posal is required. Morph then called Miriam Jacka forward to receive that award recognising her 17 years commitment to Vanuatu as a pro- ject manager for projects on Espiritu Santo and 12 years commitment to DIK, more recently as the manager of the DIK Warehouse. The man with the rolled-up sleeves and sauce bottle behind the grill at Balmain Rotary's regular sau- sage sizzles is an un- assuming sort of bloke. Few would guess that he has brought the sounds of the world to so many. The Len Avard award is an annual award given to the RAWCS Rotarian judged to be RAWCS Rotarian of the Year within Eastern Region. This is a most prestigious award and has includ- ed volunteers and RAWCS administration Ro- tarians. That so many Australians have been given the gift of hearing is due to the surgical skill, perseverance and dedication of an extraordinary man: Professor Wil- liam Gibson. To further a cause he profoundly be- lieved in, he overcame much opposition. The cochlear im- plant, that wonder- ful little electronic device, has brought many thou- sands out of their silent world and is now recog- nised as life-changing technology for the deaf. Surgically inserted in the ear, an implant does not cure deafness; it is a prosthetic substitute for hearing that does the work of the damaged hair cells of the inner ear, the cochlea, to send sound signals to the brain. Pictured above: Graham (Morph) Morphett pre- senting the award to Miriam. Professor Bill Gibson will be our guest speaker at the quarterly Eastern Region RAWCS meeting on Satur- day 18th November at Diggers at The Entrance. You are welcomed and encouraged to nomi- nate a RAWCS volunteer for this Award. Sub- missions should be a written nomination lim- ited to one A4 page. Morph - (Graham Morphett) You are welcome to join us! nominations can be emailed to Morph [email protected] and ER Chairman Adrian Roach [email protected] 4