Welcome to the fifth edition of Get Connected for 2014.

It has certainly been a busy few months for the GBSAN! The highlight of our recent events, I believe, was the Gala Dinner and Awards Night held at the Sofitel Brisbane on Friday 31 October.

Almost 300 alumni, friends, industry partners, staff and students joined us for the ninth annual dinner and celebrated the remarkable achievements of our alumni in 2014.  I would like to acknowledge St George Bank for their ongoing sponsorship of this event. I also wish to thank Ms Laura Keele and the dedicated GBS team for working so hard behind the scenes to make the night possible.

The dinner provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the achievements of our outstanding graduates, both through the keynote address and via the Outstanding Alumnus Awards. This year's key note speaker was Eva Milic, Daytime News Presenter with Nine News Queensland, and Bachelor of Business graduate. Eva provided her insights on the current media landscape and the changes she has seen in the newsroom over the past 10 years.

The 2014 Outstanding Alumnus Awards were presented on the night. Mr John O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Tourism Australia was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year. John completed a Bachelor of Leisure Studies in 1993 and now manages the nation’s global tourism marketing agency. John was unfortunately not able to attend the dinner to receive his award; you can watch his acceptance speech here.

I was honoured this year to be recognised as the Young Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.  I know a number of the previous winners and their achievements are remarkable, so to be included among them is very humbling. Education has the ability to change people’s lives, and that doesn’t end at graduation. Continuing to be an active member of the GBS alumni community has been a valuable experience for me for many reasons, including the professional network I have developed and the opportunities I have had to give back to the University.

The dinner also provided members of our alumni community the opportunity to contribute to the Transforming Business Appeal through the purchase of raffle tickets or the floral centre pieces. This year we raised over $1600 for the appeal. We are very grateful for the support of our raffle prize donors.

For photos from the dinner please visit our Facebook page.

As this is our last newsletter for 2014, I wish you and your families a safe and happy festive season and look forward to seeing many of you at events and activities in 2015.

Best wishes,

David Morgan

Chair, GBS Alumni Advisory Group