Options could include:

• At school presentation or program
• Outdoor Adventure day
• Boat Cruise or Island Retreat
• Team Tapas
• Mini-Olympics
• Golf Day
• Adventure Race
• Ready Steady Cook and so much more.

“I attended a PD / workshop with Character Builders (everything outside the classroom). I found the day to be very engaging and beneficial.  We did practical examples of how you can get students to think outside the box and how to build students’ self-esteem.  I will be able to implement a variety of these ideas immediately into my classroom.”

~ Larisa Seghers, HPE & Outdoor Ed Teacher, Bremer SHS. Ipswich, Qld.

This 1-night professional development escape is an event hosted jointly between Character Builders and Maroochy Waterfront Camp and Conference Centre on the beautiful Maroochy River. Presentations and networking opportunities are provided including meals and accommodation. Why not contact us to find out when our next Festival of Teachers PD event is happening?

Damon founded Character Builders in 2007 and works across a number of different settings including schools, universities and corporate organisations. He has extensive experience in student learning, team building, staff development and leadership training.

His approach towards learning is very audience-centred which means you can expect to be heavily involved in any of his presentations and offerings. Damon has a passion for education done differently. He engages his audiences so that they feel immersed and in ownership of the content. Damon is a HPE and Accounting teacher by trade and now enjoys bringing a variety of different offerings back to schools and bigger kids in the workplace too. Since 2007 Damon has had the privilege of delivering motivational presentations to more than 500 schools, NFP, Private and Corporate Organisations.

The Bradbury story is one of the true Aussie battler who overcomes all kinds of adversity to achieve the ultimate goal.

His presentation entitled ‘Last Man Standing’ includes:

• Audience participation & competition (winner gets signed copy of steve’s book)
• You will actually touch Steven’s Olympic Gold Medal
• Great stories and an inspirational poem
• His father’s influence (instilling a work ethic and lessons learned)
• Business success through his speed skate making company
• A 3 part DVD inc.: 1, intro 2, blood spilt on the ice and 3, reliving that Olympic final through Steven’s eyes. When your moment to shine presents itself,
• will you be in position, and prepared to be the next “to do a Bradbury”.

As well as being entertained and inspired your audience will be left with a lasting impression that much of the prize is in the journey and that success takes

PASSION, PERSISTENCE and TEAMWORK

Travels from Ballina-Byron and Gold Coast

Topics: Inspirational, Board Governance, Strategy, Conscious Leadership, Cultural Values & Ethics, Innovation & Creativity, Enneagram, Team Building and Psychology.

John will research, target and customize a strategy talk specific to your industry and clarify your future direction. He can help your Board and leadership team evolve, with interactive presentations and workshops that enhance self-awareness, awareness of others and the outer focus and vigilance your organization should be demanding from its leaders. John also shares today’s most compelling scientific, technological, psychological, physiological and sociological findings in the context of people, performance and organizations, in such a way, that audiences with previously fixed mindsets, see exciting new realities emerge.

John has graduate degrees in Architecture and Computer Science, postgrad degrees in Education and Sport Science, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne. He is a father of four and has worked as a Visiting Professor at various Business Schools teaching and inspiring both MBA and EMBA students.

As a communication and performance expert, Amanda believes success in business is always about feelings. The way we feel about a product, organization or person influences how we behave and informs our decisions about how we spend, or how we conduct business. Facts, targets and figures don’t change behaviours – touching hearts, feelings and stories do.

Amanda’s action-packed, but scientifically based performances, offer an abundance of use-it-now tools to handle change and create deep, lasting relationships at every level – with customers, colleagues and family – leaving everyone feeling good about themselves, energised, enthusiastic and re-engaged!

Karni Liddell has already established herself as one of Australia’s most successful and well-respected Paralympic swimmers of our time. Karni’s journey to success began a lot differently than the typical elite athlete. Karni was diagnosed at birth with a degenerative muscle wasting disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Many Doctors and specialists told her amazing parents that their first-born child would not walk, sit up or live past her teenage years. In fact, many specialists told Terri and Jeff Liddell to make their daughter as comfortable as possible, as exercise only makes this condition worse. Karni’s parents started her on a ‘crazy’ self-invented rehabilitation program which soon helped them realise that one of the greatest pleasures in life is achieving things people say can’t be done!

Not only did Karni walk she also established herself as one of the best swimmers in the world. Karni broke her first world record at the age of 14 and went into the Sydney Paralympic Games as the fastest woman in the world for all her events. Karni was also voted in by her teammates to be one of the Australian team captains. Karni participated in many modelling photoshoots and magazines including a 6-page bikini spread for Inside sport, a Paralympic body-painting calendar and Black and White Magazine. Karni wanted people to understand that accidents and disabilities don’t discriminate it chooses beautiful people every single day. Karni’s preparation for Sydney was extremely difficult and she realised during this time exactly what Spinal Muscular Atrophy meant. Karni’s story is filled with ‘edge of your seat’ unbelievable drama and circumstances, more importantly, she demonstrates the power of belief and choice. Karni will have you crying one minute and then laughing out loud.

The triumph of the human spirit prevails in Karni’s story. Karni is now a presenter on 4BC radio and worked as a commentator at the Athens Paralympic Games, at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and at the World Swimming Championships. More amazingly, Karni was employed by Westpac Bank to raise $1million for the Australian Paralympic team to go to Athens. The Australian team desperately needed the money; otherwise, the team would have been downsized dramatically. Karni had a huge target and goal, to raise $1million in 4 months. With the help of the Westpac team, Karni travelled the countryside telling her story and fundraising and after an epic tour, she was able to give the Australian Paralympic team enough money for them all to experience the Paralympic dream. Karni is the Ambassador for Clubs Queensland, Day of Difference Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association and ACPET. Karni demonstrates to everybody who hears her story that each and every one of us has a choice in life and that our choices should not be determined by our circumstances.

Ben Southall is a presenter, digital journalist and adventurer. His achievements include beating 35,000 to win the Best Job in the World in 2009 and became the ‘Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef’ in Australia.

In 2008 he climbed five of Africa’s highest mountains and ran five marathons during his circumnavigation of the continent with his Afritrex expedition. During 2011 he kayaked 1600kms along the Great Barrier Reef retracing Captain Cook’s ‘Voyage of Discovery’ with the Best Expedition in the World.

Ben has set a number of world records in the last few years; the Aussie 8 – the fastest ever ascent of the tallest mountain in each state in Australia, and the New Zealand 9 – the fastest ever completion of New Zealand’s Nine Great Walks – totalling 545km in 9 days.

In 2016 Ben and his wife Sophee completed their Best Life in the World expedition – a 55,000km, 12-month drive through 33 countries from Singapore to London. They both run successful travel websites that have become portals for would-be travellers from around the world.

Dan was born with Spina Bifida (a congenital birth defect of the spine) in 1966. He was given 12 years to live due to any number of conditions associated with the defect including renal failure. At 49 he is a husband, father, international gold medalist, coach, speaker and author.

Dan attended Villanova College, Coorparoo, Brisbane, Australia and graduating in 1983, the first disabled student to attend. Since that time he has represented Qld 20+ times and Australia on 5 occasions in Wheelchair Athletics and Wheelchair Basketball culminating in the 1994 World Athletics Championships and the squad for the Atlanta Paralympics in 1996.

He speaks on a number of topics including resilience, following your dreams and goal setting.
He will be releasing his autobiography “Walk on” in 2017.