On July 22nd 2010, HMRI awarded the Exceptional Service Medal to eight people who have given over and above the normal expectations to HMRI.

The recipients come from a variety of backgrounds – research, academia, corporate, health service management, fundraising, philanthropy… it is this very combination of many talents and perspectives that makes HMRI such a successful organisation.

In recognition of Exceptional Service to HMRI, we acknowledge:

Dr Geoffrey Leonard AM	Professor John Rostas
Professor Katherine McGrath	Professor Roger Smith
Ms Libby Rodgers-McPhee	Mr Jim Sullivan
Mr Richard Owens OAM	Mrs Jennie Thomas AM

Click on the name of each recipient to read about their amazing contributions to HMRI.

 

In the history of HMRI there have been people who have demonstrated exceptional service to the organisation.

The Exceptional Service Medal is designed to recognise exceptional and sustained contributions by an individual towards some aspect of HMRI’s activities.

The individual may have served on the HMRI Board, its formal committees or other committees supporting HMRI, volunteers, staff members, former staff members, or a member of the community.

The primary factor considered when assessing a nomination is whether the nominee has made a sustained contribution to HMRI that exceeds the ordinary expectations of their relationships with HMRI. Each of the recipients tonight has certainly done that.

I feel privileged to serve as Chairman of the HMRI Board. When taking on the role, I was conscious of the legacy of those before me. It gives me great pleasure tonight to be presenting Exceptional Service Medals to those whose work, particularly in the early stages of forming the Institute, has helped put HMRI on the map, setting us up as one of the state’s, and country’s, leading health and medical research institutes.

I would also like to acknowledge the extraordinary vision of Hunter New England Health and the University of Newcastle in joining the community to create HMRI.

Congratulations to all the recipients…and thank you for the exceptional amounts of time and effort you have put into HMRI.

Robert (Bob) Kennedy
Chair, HMRI Board

Based on their long relationship with HMRI, Mark and Geneane Gusse from Gallerie Fine Jewellery were approached to design the Exception Service Medal for HMRI. Geneane identified that the Exceptional Service Medal should be:

• High quality;
• Functional;
• Timeless; and
• Unique – being distinctive and identifiable with HMRI.

With this in mind, Geneane focused her efforts on a lapel pin, incorporating the ellipse that characterises the current HMRI logo. From this, she developed a simple, elegant lapel pin, with a gold-plated ellipse on which green diamonds are set.

Photos by Thierry Boudan Photography