ACC Australia thank and congratulate the ACC Australia Mentoring Program Awards Winners and Finalists
Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Australia has a proud history of supporting members in their personal and professional growth endeavours through providing mentoring opportunities. The ACC Australia Mentoring Program is now in its eleventh year and currently, there are 150 members enjoying the benefits of mentoring across all states of Australia.
It has been noted over time that the results achieved by mentees participating in the program are staggering; the dedication, quality and enthusiasm of our mentors is incredible; and the efforts made by committee members to guide, improve and grow the program are outstanding.
To honour the extraordinary achievements of those involved in the Mentoring Program, on 17th November 2017, at the ACC Australia National Conference in Alice Springs, we hosted our inaugural ACC Australia Mentoring Program Awards.
Nick Willetts was announced the winner of the Mentor of the Year Award for making himself available over and above expectations to his assigned mentee, guiding her through a complex spectrum of considerations which resulted in her relocating off-shore to take up an in-house role in an industry entirely new to her, of which she had previously viewed as an impossible dream. Through a balance of encouragement and challenge, Nick guided his mentee to broaden her network, take on an executive committee role and accept public speaking opportunities.
Margarita Varigos was announced the winner of the Mentee of the Year Award for the determination she demonstrated in making the most of her mentoring experience. During a challenging period of her life, she was able to tap into her inner resilience, step well outside her comfort zone and reach heights in her career and personal life that she had previously never imagined possible. Within six months of the program’s commencement, Margarita had gained considerable exposure in the in-house community and was preparing to relocate to the USA to commence in her newly attained dream job. She now mentors others and is an active champion of the ACC Australia Mentoring Program.
The ACC Australia Mentoring Program would not exist or be the best-in-class program it is today without the efforts of many ACC Australia members over the past dozen years. The Outstanding Contribution Award was established to recognise the level of sacrifice, commitment and volunteer service of ACC Australia members in the development, improvement and growth of the Mentoring Program. The inaugural winner of this award is ACC Australia Chair of the Mentoring Advisory Committee and Victorian Committee member, Anna Bagley.
Anna came to the ACC Australia Mentoring Advisory Committee in 2009 with a background in establishing and managing company mentoring programs. She has chaired the Mentoring Advisory Committee since 2010, driving the program from a Victoria-centric to nationally managed program. Under Anna’s leadership, the program has grown from twenty mentoring partnerships in the pilot program, to over seventy-five partnerships in 2017. The Mentoring Program Resource Library now holds more than thirty professionally written, branded and up-to-date articles, templates and videos providing support for program participants. The quality of the resources is such that we now have other associations seeking permission to utilise our materials in their own programs.
ACC Australia thanks the Mentoring Program Award Winners, along with Mentor of the Year finalist, Robert Stribling; Mentee of the Year finalist, Marnie Troeth; and Outstanding Contribution finalists, Sharyn Cowley and Gillian Wong for their exceptional example and contribution. Special thanks extend to the members of the Mentoring Advisory Committee who assisted in judging the award nominations.
Posted 19/12/17
