Today is my last day as C.E.O. of this wonderful organisation.  I would like to thank all the many wonderful people I have worked with over the last 11 years during my time with SCMDC.  I am very proud to have been involved with this organisation, which was founded in the late 1990s by a group of passionate locals who decided to explore the potential for a marine tourism, research and education centre in Eden.

It took a huge team of volunteers many years of lobbying and fundraising to build the profile of the Centre and see it come to fruition in the Wharf Building at Snug Cove and we recently celebrated five years since opening in 2008.  Since then well over 2,500 students from the local region and beyond have benefited from our education programs and even more have enjoyed school holiday programs such as rocky shore rambles and more.

SCMDC has forged strong relationships with key universities, research institutes and tourism bodies and will continue to strive to showcase our amazing temperate marine environment into the future.  I am lucky enough to have met people from all over the world and all manner of expertise during my time with the Centre and have never stopped learning from them, and it is abundantly clear that we all need to learn more about managing the precious resources our oceans produce.

It is with mixed emotions that I now leave my role as C.E.O. to explore new opportunities.  The Centre has consumed my life (and that of my family!) for many years so it is a little like leaving your baby but I know that it will continue to grow and thrive with a new direction and its wonderfully talented staff members and dedicated Associate Members and Volunteers.

Thank you Eden and surrounds for embracing the vision of this place.  I am convinced it will reach great heights and be the Centre of Excellence in Marine Research and Education that those who have been involved envisage.  Our unique marine environment is what makes this region special.  SCMDC will continue to showcase it and teach visitors about it for many years to come.

Thank you – to Board members past and present, Volunteers past and present, staff members past and present – for your support and encouragement through my time here.  I hope our paths will cross again in the not-too-distant future.

Jen