FMA National Conference Wrap Up
1st June 2022
During the middle of May, the FMA Conference took over the beautiful city of Toowoomba, Queensland. The Conference was a great success and allowed delegates to reconnect and network with flood risk professionals from all over the nation and overseas. During the three days of the Conference, FMA heard presentations, discussions, and keynotes not only in-person but also virtually. This was the first event that was held through both mediums and allowed access to those who were not able to travel.
The Empire Theatre provided a very dramatic background for the return of face-to-face professional development and networking. The field trips allowed delegates to gain a greater understanding of the flood-related challenges faced by the local area, including Grantham and the surrounds. They proved to be very eye-opening and informative for all who were able to attend.
The highlight of the event was the FMA Excellence Awards, with the winners being announced at the Gala Dinner (which was spectacular in its own right):
FMA IAG YFM Young Flood Risk Manager of the Year Award
Erin Hughes, HARC
FMA Allan Ezzy Flood Risk Manager of the Year Award
Bill Syme, TUFLOW
FMA ICA Flood Risk Management Project of the Year Award
Winner
Wollongong City Council for Implementing ARR2019 in Wollongong
Highly Commended
Water Technology, Synergy Solutions and Ipswich City Council for Ipswich Integrated Catchment Plan
The Harold Sternbeck Medal for best presentation at the Conference and the Outstanding Young Presenter Award will be announced shortly, as the judges continue to evaluate and deliberate the presentations. These Awards will be presented to the winners at the upcoming FMA Meetings in Brisbane and Sydney, where a condensed version of the winning presentations will be provided.
The FMA Conference would not have been able to go ahead, especially at such a high level without the support of our sponsors and exhibitors:
Gold Sponsors – IAG and Toowoomba City Council
Silver Sponsors – NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Autodesk, NSW SES, TUFLOW, Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Bureau of Meteorology.
Bronze Coffee Card Sponsor – Aquamonix
Bronze Sponsor Conference Dinner – Royal HaskoningDHV
Bronze Sponsor Casual Dinner – WMAwater
Lanyard Sponsor – HDR
Conference Stationery Sponsor – Allan & Dennis
Drink Bottle Sponsor – JBP
Session Sponsor – Cardno, now Stantec
Trade Exhibitors – 12ds, Australian Concrete Mats, waterRIDE, awma Water Control Solutions, Bluemont, Campell Scientific, Royal HaskoningDHV, Autodesk, Aquamonix, Composites by Wagners, Spatial Innovation, Manly Hydraulics Laboratory, Barko Security, Hydro Response, Geodesign Barriers, Wight Water Environmental.
Conference papers that have been made available by the presenters are now accessible exclusively in the Members' Section of floods.asn.au. Papers from 2021 are now publicly available.
We look forward to hosting you at the FMA Conference in Sydney next year – save the date now of 23-26 May 2023.
