We've had another great year at The George Alexander Foundation. It has also been my first year as the Foundation's CEO, having come on board last December.

Since February, I have been attending many of our partners' scholarship award ceremonies or visiting their campuses to meet with current and previous years' GAF scholars. This has not only helped me better understand the role that the Foundation plays, but I have also been greatly impressed by the GAF scholars from past and present years that I have had the opportunity to meet one-on-one. It has been truly inspiring to hear about how each of them came to apply for a GAF scholarship as well as their future plans post-studies.

In 2016 we will welcome over 70 new scholars to our GAF family. So far, Nicole Bortone, our Program Manager, and I have visited with this year's GAF scholars at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Murdoch University in Perth, and QUT and Griffith University in Brisbane. It was a great pleasure to meet with scholars on an informal basis and be infected by their optimism. We have created some photo albums of our visits on our GAF Facebook page as mementos of our visits.

I was also invited to attend scholarship ceremonies at Swinburne University, the Gordon, Australian Catholic University – Ballarat, RMIT University and the University of Melbourne. Being at these ceremonies allowed me also to meet some of our newest scholars' parents, who are, understandably, extremely proud of their children and the recognition of the effort that a George Alexander Foundation scholarship represents.

At each of these ceremonies, a previous scholarship recipient is asked to speak on behalf of all scholars. At the RMIT University ceremony, Jon Allemand, a GAF scholar from 2015, spoke very eloquently about the confidence and opportunities afforded him by receiving a GAF scholarship. I encourage you to read his speech and share it with any young person who may be considering applying for a scholarship. 

Earlier this year, we also launched a new GAF website with a fresher and more youthful look and feel. The new website also includes some new features, such as the Our Community page, which pulls together posts from our GAF Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages. 

In addition to the new website, we have just published the first issue of a bi-annual e-newsletter, Campus, which will further allow us to share stories from our many GAF scholars, fellows and alumni, celebrating their achievements during and post scholarship or fellowship.

In 2017, we will be celebrating the 45^th anniversary of the George Alexander Foundation and the 15th anniversary of the Foundation's scholarship programs. So, we have already started planning some special events to mark this milestone. Make sure you keep an eye on our website and social media accounts, or sign up for our Campus newsletter to receive news on what will be happening and when.

I am excited to be part of the George Alexander Foundation and very proud to be associated with an organisation that seeks to support talented students wishing to fulfil their potential and give back to the community. From what I have seen so far, I am confident our GAF alumni will all make significant contributions to the futures of their communities.

Craig Connelly

Chief Executive Officer