It looks like there will be quite an International flavour at the Melbourne Conference this year. After sending out the 2018 DRTA Conference flyer to some of our international contacts, Anne Richard, the Executive Director of NCTRC which is the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification in the US, is definitely coming over to Melbourne and giving a presentation. She will possibly have a trade/information table for conference delegates and she has accepted an invitation to talk to the DRTA Board at our Board meeting while there in Melbourne. She is possibly also bringing NCTRC’s Director of Credentialing, Robyn McNeil with her. With NCTRC having in excess of 17 000 members in the US and internationally, I’m sure what they have to say will be worth listening to.
Also, Casey Narusawa, the Activity Director at an Aged Care facility in Pearl City Hawaii, called Plaza Assisted Living, is possibly going to come over to our Melbourne Conference. Those people who were in Brisbane at our 2017 conference may remember Casey gave a short presentation via Skype from Hawaii, so fingers crossed, she will join us in Melbourne in person.
Takako Serizawa the President of the Diversional Therapy Association of Japan will once again be joining us at our conference. She will be bringing a delegation of DT workers and associates with her from Japan as well. I think this will be her 15th straight year that she has attended our DRTA National Conference.
In the past 3 weeks we have been very fortunate to have US Senator Mike Gabbard, who is a lover of music and a very accomplished musician himself, join us on Skype for a short while to hear the Barunga Village Choir, that is made up of approx. 20 of my residents, sing to him. He was very kind to give us some of his time and seemed to really enjoy the occasion. Two weeks ago, Takako joined us on Skype from her home in Japan, along with her husband for a sing- a-long with the choir. We did Amazing Grace together and she also sang the chorus of Waltzing Matilda with the choir as a special request. She was so excited to be able to do this, she has organised a Nursing Home, Day-care Centre to host a full Choir Concert via Skype to their residents for the first time there in Japan, and Dr Mark Brown from Colorado Springs in the US, who also gave a presentation in Brisbane via Skype is also going to join us, via Skype, for the concert. We did a test run last week and we have set down a date for the full concert to Japan and the US for the 21st of August.
Seeing Takako and her Day-care residents on Skype reminded me and brought back wonderful memories from the DRTA Japan Study Tour that I was very fortunate to be part of in 2016.
Darren Robinson
DRTA International Liaison Projects Team Leader.