Page 22 - Languages Victoria December 2019

Languages Victoria
MLTAV 2019 Annual General Meeting - Honorary Life Membership Award
Recipient
Heather Brown, Vice-President, MLTAV
According to MLTAVs Rules, ‘the Association may appoint as Honorary Life Members such persons as it wishes to honour’. The criterion for this award is ‘dedicated, significant and effective contribution to the work of the MLTAV over an extended period’.
The work of the MLTAV is defined broadly as, ‘in cooperation with the Single Language Associations (SLAs) and other partner organisations, MLTAV supports teachers and learning of languages throughout Victoria by providing quality services, including professional learning opportunities, advocacy and consultancy. The MLTAV aims to encourage and promote the learning of languages as an essential part of the school curriculum’.
Leading up to the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the MLTAV Secretary received a nomination form from a current MLTAV member, seconded by a member of the MLTAV Committee of Management, to consider Heather for an Honorary Life Membership Award.
Following the defined process, the nomination was reviewed by the MLTAV Executive, plus one eminent person other than a languages teacher or languages academic, giving consideration to the award criterion. A unanimous decision was reached for the award to be approved.
Once approved, the nomination was then forwarded to the full MLTAV Committee for endorsement. The criteria of two-thirds majority support by a secret ballot process for the award to be granted, was successfully reached.
The award was presented to Heather by the MLTAV President, Gabriella Bertolissi, at the MLTAV AGM held on Tuesday 3 December at CO.AS.IT in Carlton. Heather was delighted to accept this award and was presented with a formal framed Honorary Life Membership Award certificate and a bouquet of flowers.
The full citation for Heather’s Honorary Life Membership Award is as follows:
In her capacity as educator, Heather has made outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of languages in Victoria. Besides having taught
Page 22 Volume 23 Number 2