All over Australia this Easter, families will hitch up their trailers, check the oil and tyres and head off for quality bonding time away from the daily grind. Unfortunately, it is also one of the busiest times on the road. Campsites often burst at the seams and spontaneous adventures are becoming a thing of the past. Right now is the time to think ahead and plan your escape.

Written by Sunshine Coast mum, Sarah Pye, Kids Welcome to Queensland, is the perfect resource and it can save hours on the Internet. Without annoying advertising, this guidebook reviews over 500 kid-friendly things to do in Queensland. Most were visited personally by Sarah, and her chief expert 10-year-old daughter Amber, and many are cost free. A handy traffic light rating system indicates suitability in three different age groups: preschool, primary and teen.

Terri Sanderson used the family-friendly guidebook over the Christmas holidays. “It really made life easier,” she said, “and the colourful pictures and easy-to-read style makes it possible for the whole family to help plan their holiday”.

Kids Welcome to Queensland has been enjoying unparalleled success since its launch last October. Over the Christmas period, Sarah said the first 1000 copies flew off the shelf. “I have been amazed at the positive feedback at book signings,” she said, “it just goes to prove parents want to know more about places to explore with their kids”.

Why not download a backseat treasure hunt to keep the kids amused on your journey? Sarah has developed seven wonderful quizzes for different Queensland regions. All are free and, for a limited time, kids can send back their answers for a free prize pack! Visit: www.kidswelcome.com.au for more details.

Kids Welcome to Queensland is endorsed by Tourism Queensland and Playgroup Queensland. Its handy A5 size fits in your glove box and it comes complete with Hema maps covering the entire state. Kids Welcome to Queensland is available through bookshops, your local library or www.kidswelcome.com.au. RRP 29.95.

A fine lineup of big-hearted Brisbane bands will be gracing the stage at the Sunshine Coast’s newest live music venue, Club Envy on Sunday March 28 for Big Haiti Hug, a fundraising concert in honour of the people of earthquake devastated Haiti.

Garage country rocksters Mexico City, avant-garde folk ‘n’ rollers Golden Virtues, reggae groove merchants The Rooftops, and alternative rock trio Dear April will be coming together for an all-in musical embrace.

There’s plenty of love for everyone: Caribbean cocktails served by
gorgeous models, giveaways galore including double passes to four big festivals, Tsunami Mag showbags and a lucky door prize that will knock your socks off.

Dear April will get the party started with their progressive and unique rock tapestry, followed by Golden Virtues electro-acoustic folk rock. Mexico City will deliver their roaring epic garage rock tunes right before The Rooftops bring the night to a climatic end, stepping up the beats with their deep rooted grooves and soul searching vibes.

Big Haiti Hug organiser and Sunshine Coast local Jonas Ramone recently returned to his native soil of Haiti to see fi rsthand the devastation that continues to affect the country. “Aid is bottle necked and is just not getting through to those that need it most. Recovery and reconstruction is far from over,” Jonas said.

The early evening affair will kick off at 7pm and organisers urge Sunshine Coast music lovers to step out and show some love for the people of Haiti, to let them know the Sunshine Coast has not forgotten.

Tickets are $15 and available at the door. Club Envy is situated at 19 Ocean St, Maroochydore.

With a stellar cast of international speakers the LearnX E-Learning Training Conference will showcase the cutting edge tools and resources available in e-learning to more than 400 industry professionals.

This year that includes demonstrating how companies can use social media as a training tool.  International renowned trainer, social media strategist and author of the new book Social Media for Trainer, Dr Jane Bozarth will in her keynote address offer an overview of social learning and take conference attendees on a tour of social media tools while offering real world ideas to help training professionals refine existing skills, develop new ones and remain vital and viable in the new world.

Now in its fifth year, the LearnX E-Learning and Training Conference on the 9^th and 10^th of June at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, is the premier e-learning conference in Australia with a jam packed two-day program.  The focus is on presenting the best-practice in e-learning including presentations such as finding the X factor to achieve Xcellence, how to infuse learning into the culture of your organisation, aligning employee learning with your business strategies and much more.  There will also be informative panel discussions with Learning Leaders.

Event organiser Rob Clarke said the speakers were leaders in their fields coming from Argentina, Canada, Germany, India, NZ, Singapore, the UK and USA along with the best of Australian talent.  To view the complete conference program visit http://www.learnx.net/learnx/DownloadBrochure.html.

“With 60 learning executives who have advised and successfully dealt with training challenges that relate to a modern workforce presenting, attendees will learn what’s working, why and get practical ideas and strategies they can use for their learning team,” Rob said.

The Exhibition will present and demonstrate the latest innovations and technologies available.

Talented professionals working in the e-learning and training sector are also being urged not to miss the opportunity to be recognised through the LearnX E-Learning and Training Awards.  Entries for the awards, which focus on recognising excellence in the industry, close in just over two weeks on Friday 2^nd April 2010.

The winners will be announced at a special Awards Luncheon (on 10^th June) during the Conference in front of the who’s who of the industry attending, including Learning Leaders from corporate, academia and public service sectors.

Rob said they felt the awards were especially important this year because they would acknowledge organisations, teams and individuals who had dedicated themselves to training, in what has been a tough year economically.

“As Australia gears back up from the economic downturn there are more Australians looking for training opportunities – particularly online – that give them an edge in a competitive market,” Mr Clarke said.

“In 2009, the Awards were hailed as the best in the South Pacific region and were celebrated by more than 400 Learning Leaders. The Awards have a hugely positive impact on the individuals, teams and organisations that enter,” he said.

Australian Red Cross Blood Service National Learning and Development Manager Les Lisz said they were delighted to receive the prestigious 2009 LearnX Award for Best Training Team.  “To be recognised externally for our achievements was wonderful confirmation that we are applying industry best practice in how we partner with the business.  It was a great motivator for the team and created much excitement within our organisation,” Mr Lisz said.

2009 winners can be viewed http://www.learnx.net/learnx/2009awardwinners.html.

The LearnX Awards include 50 categories recognising excellence in the areas of Best Talent, Best Practices, Best Services, Green Training, and for the first time this year Best use of Social Learning Tools.

Nominations are also being sought for Best in Class Technologies – you can nominate your preferred technology used in learning online at http://www.learnx.net/learnx/awards_nominate.html.  Deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 2 April 2010.  All entries can be submitted on-line or you can download award forms via the website.  To Download the Awards Brochure and for detailed information visit http://www.learnx.net/learnx/awards_nominate.html.

The LearnX Asia Pacific E-Learning & Training Solutions International Conference & Expo will be held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre on the 9^th and 10^th of June 2010. For enquiries regarding the Awards, Conference & Expo please contact Rob Clarke rob@learnx.net, call 1300 880 326 or visit www.learnx.net.

As elite athletes are being put through their paces at the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival this year, Bloomhill Cancer Help will be continuing its work to support people with cancer throughout the Sunshine Coast, to live well with their illness.

This is why Bloomhill is grateful to USM Events for once again nominating Bloomhill as the Triathlon’s nominated charity for this year’s festival from 26^th to 28^th March to help support the work the local Sunshine Coast charity does.

Bloomhill Cancer Help is operated by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers and relies on the generosity of the public and funds generated by its several OP shops throughout the Sunshine Coast.

At this year’s Triathlon Festival, Bloomhill will be fundraising in a variety of ways.  You can show your support by purchasing raffle tickets at the Twilight 5km run on Friday night, by visiting the Bloomhill booth at the Triathlon expo, donating at the gear tent and registration area or donating to one of the Bloomhill volunteers, who will be wearing blue Bloomhill t-shirts.  Also, come and enjoy the Bloomhill breakfast barbecue on Saturday morning in the park in Foote St.

“The support we receive each year at the Mooloolaba Triathlon is overwhelming and has helped Bloomhill to support and assist more and more clients every year”, Bloomhill Committee Member and Triathlon competitor Brett Graham said.

“USM events, organisers of the Mooloolaba Triathlon have shown tremendous support for the charity by giving us this opportunity to raise funds and awareness at the Triathlon. They truly recognise the importance of Bloomhill to the Sunshine Coast”, he said.

Bloomhill offers both emotional and practical support for people with cancer and their loved ones by offering complementary therapies transport to appointments, support groups and counselling. We focus on improving the quality of life and support our clients through every stage of the illness.

The Mooloolaba Triathlon is running from Friday the 26^th to Sunday the 28^th of March at Mooloolaba, Queensland.  To find out more about Bloomhill, to donate or volunteer, visit www.bloomhill.com.au or call 07 5445 5794.  For more information about the Festival visit www.usmevents.com.au/mooltri.

Aspiring writers wanting to learn the art of writing short stories are invited to attend an inspirational workshop hosted by the Sunshine Coast Literary Association on Saturday 20 March.

Brisbane-based short story expert Stephen Irwin will present ‘It’s not the length, it’s what you do with it: Writing the short story’ and guide participants through the essential ingredients needed to craft a compelling short story.

SCLA president Hari Kotrotsios said the workshop was the second of two being held to help writers as they prepared entries for the Association’s WARM Writers Competition in 2010.

“The SCLA aims to nurture, showcase and celebrate literary talent on the Sunshine Coast by continually holding events that educate writers in the different genres and provide skills development.  We also seek to recognise talent with our competition,” Hari said.

“This year’s competition has four categories and with a cost of just $5 per entry it is easy to be a part of it. This workshop, and the one in February  ‘Architecture of the Novel’, aim to help writers get cracking on their entries,” she said.

Hari said the SCLA was privileged to have been able to attract such a talented writer to present this workshop.

Stephen Irwin has lived in and around Brisbane, Queensland all his life. At an early age, he was discovered to be a notably lousy swimmer and an outstandingly poor cricketer, but fortunately he found and fostered a love of reading and writing.  His tertiary study in film production led to a career in restaurant and handyman work.

He says his love of writing overcame his interest in cupboard repairs. His portfolio of documentary and film projects resulted in a reputation as a respectable, if shabbily dressed, screen-writer and director. His short stories, films and poems have won numerous national and international competitions and awards. THE DEAD PATH is his first novel.

The Short Story workshop will be held on Saturday, 20 March from 9.30am to 3.30pm at the Lake Kawana Community Centre, Sportsman Parade, Bokarina.  Working face-to-face with Stephen will inspire writers through discussions about this different, exciting genre.

The cost is $55 for SCLA members and $65 for non-members. Participants are asked to bring their own pen and paper and lunch or they can drive to nearby shops during the lunch break. For bookings phone 0414 635 407, email info@scliterary.org or visit www.scliterary.org for more details.

Details about the WARM Writers Competition are also available on the SCLA website www.scliterary.org.

Innovation Centre client, Quality Systems Network, is taking its operations from a regional level to a global one with the help of a Federal Government COMET grant.

Quality Systems Network which provides software as a solution to the ISO9001 market received a grant of $70.400 in the latest round of Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) grants announced by Senator Kim Car, Minister for Innovation, Science and Research. The grants total $774,400 in national funding to help bring 11 innovative Australian projects to market.

Quality Systems Toolbox^TM, a web based ISO 9001 Toolbox for SMEs, was one of two winners based in Queensland.  ISO 9001 is an international standard that defines requirements for quality management systems.

Quality Systems Network company director Ian Clark said a well functioning quality management system meant that a business can consistently deliver the product or service they promise. “That is important to potential customers and, for larger contracts, supplier certification to ISO 9001 is often mandatory,” he said.

“ISO9001 is often a requirement to service government or larger company contracts, hence there are over 9,000 Australian certified ISO9001 companies. We find that many small to medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle to meet the requirements of the standard with traditionally paper-based systems, often resulting in poor maintenance and difficult audits.  Our Toolbox makes the process much easier to manage, saving companies time in management, the platform more accessible to employees and audits far easier to pass.”

“Quality Systems Toolbox has successfully passed audits for clients in a range of industries including mining, electronics, food processing, and manufacturing. One of our first international clients, a Singapore based company offers security risk management services and they used our software to become ISO 9001 compliant and certified in 4 months.  The Toolbox is very flexible and suits all kinds of businesses.”

“We’ve been working with the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast in their business Incubator program to access expertise we don’t have in-house.  The COMET grant will help us engage other specialist providers to assist in market research and marketing, while executing on the strategic business planning work done with the Innovation Centre to take Quality Systems Toolbox to a wider market.”

Innovation Centre Entrepreneur in Residence, Nigel Hall said “Quality Systems Network is a great example of a small coast based business that is punching above its weight. With 15 active local clients now using the system it is time for the company to focus on market penetration and look at national and international opportunities. Winning the COMET grant will enable them to do the market research and engage professional marketing support to access those markets. Winning the Singapore client and demonstrating how effective the Toolbox is in the market gives the company real proof of concept even in International markets. We look forward to great things from Quality Systems Network”.

About Quality Systems Network

After many years building paper-based quality management systems and seeing the difficulties they presented, business consultant Ian Clark thought that there had to be a better way.  Bringing together his knowledge and his son’s expertise in web development, Quality Systems Toolbox^TM was developed as a web-based application that addresses all of the requirements of ISO 9001 and makes it easier to manage.

There are definite pay-offs for University of the Sunshine Coast students who get involved with the Innovation Centre and the businesses within it.

This will be the message that new Innovation Centre Student Ambassador Erin Pyers will be spruiking to new and returning students at the University of the Sunshine Coast this year.

Erin, who is in her second year of a Bachelor of Public Relations degree at the university, said she was very excited about her new role.

“Being the Innovation Centre’s student ambassador is the perfect opportunity to put into practice all the skills I have been learning in my degree,” Erin said.

“The Innovation Centre is full of really exciting businesses which creates great opportunities for students wanting to get experience in a whole range of industries,” she said.

Innovation Centre CEO Colin Graham said the Student Ambassador program was established last year to increase awareness among students of the business activities at the Centre and the opportunities this created for them.

“The results last year were fantastic with 12 students accessing part-time or fulltime work at the centre, a further 16 taking part in work experience or internships and another 34 taking part in student projects,” Mr Graham said.

Erin moved from Victoria to the Sunshine Coast to study and be by the beach, which she also emphasises the benefit of having opportunities at the Innovation Centre in relation to it’s prime location.

Erin said as part of her job she has been in the process of meeting with the 30 companies based at the Innovation Centre’s Business Incubator and Business Accelerator to find as many opportunities as possible for students in the coming year.

“I will be working to link students with the Innovation Centre companies and to find suitable students for work experience and internships, or to recruit for full time or part time employment,” she said.

“I will also be speaking to lecture classes about the Innovation Centre and the opportunities here.

“Many students just don’t realise what great opportunities there are right on their doorstep.  Just by attending the regular networking functions like Enterprise Tuesday students can gain excellent contacts to help them with their career.

“Graduates really need to have an edge when looking for a job and begin to utilise the great range of companies at the Innovation Centre, to get first hand experience in their chosen career.”

Any students wanting to find out more about the opportunities at the centre can contact Erin by email – Epyers@usc.edu.au or visit the Innovation Centre website: www.innovation-centre.com.au.

A Queensland invention that reduces the risk of musculoskeletal injuries in the transport industry, helping to cut the huge cost of workplace injuries has been released on to the market.

The Strong Arm Strap, developed by a Brisbane Company, Fit For Life Consulting in close consultation with the transport industry to reduce workplace injuries.

Fit for Life Consulting, which specialises in workplace injury management, developed the Strong Arm Strap to make it easier for drivers and transport workers to pull heavy tautliner truck curtains (side curtains) open and shut, and to reduce the risk of injury to the back, shoulder, upper limb, and neck.

The transport industry has a much higher rate of injuries than many other occupations, and statistics show the average cost of a lost-time work injury in transport and storage is $11,000 (Q-Comp 07/08 Statistics Report).

Occupational Therapist and director of Fit for Life Consulting, Tim Elvery said the inexpensive product was developed through necessity and aimed to reduce back and shoulder injuries.

“Our team of occupational therapists and physiotherapists has seen the damage truck drivers can do to their bodies by pulling tautliner curtains that are sticking, worn or just heavy,” he said.

“We were helping people who had already injured themselves and we thought: Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop some of those injuries from occurring in the first place.

“When you look at the cause of these injuries, a lot of the problem revolves around how someone stands and the way they reach and pull.  It’s easy to overstretch if you don’t get your position and movement right.

“The simple device we developed, the Strong Arm Strap, uses a handle, strap and hook to enable workers to pull truck curtains open or shut much more easily.”

The strap hooks into the curtain buckle (saving fingers and hands from possible injury) and allows workers to keep their arms close to their body as they pull, thus using their core strength and reducing the risk of over-stretching (saving back and shoulder injuries).

“We’ve developed the Strong Arm Strap with the help of trucking industry experts and it’s been trialled by workers who are already appreciating the benefits,” Mr Elvery said.

Workplace-related injuries and illnesses cost the Australian economy about $60 billion each year.

The Strong Arm Strap retails for $39.95 (Inc GST).

For information or orders call 07 3630 4940 or visit www.strongarmstrap.com

Industry Testimonials:
Transport workers have told us that just using the strap means they automatically use a better posture and are not inclined to overreach which is where the risk of injury is the greatest.

“A number of our businesses have tested and now incorporated this tool into their operations, as it has been seen to contribute to reducing the risk of injury and recovery from injury to our workers.” (Group OHS Manager, Toll Group)

“We introduced the Strong Arm Strap into our operations following 2 recent shoulder injuries from pulling curtains. This was initiated by senior management, and supervisors/team leaders support this as a standard risk management process within our Townsville operation. The straps are now being used by all of our handlers and drivers.” (NQX Townsville)