Joe Drover is a familiar face at The Ville Resort – Casino having progressed across countless roles over a 30 year career with the business.

We ask Joe what it takes to deliver service excellence:

How long have you worked at the property? What are some of the roles you’ve had over that time?

I’ve worked at the property for over 30 years. In that time I’ve had a lot of varied experience. I’ve been a restaurant table attendant, a barman, worked in in-room dining, banquets, at Spin Café and on the Casino gaming floor.

What do you love about working in hospitality and interacting with customers?

I really enjoy having some conversation and banter with customers to build a bit of camaraderie. I like to try and create an atmosphere that’s fun, active and dynamic.

What does ‘service excellence’ mean to you?

For me service excellence is about attention to detail. It’s about being deliberate and thoughtful about timing of your service and anticipating what the customer needs and when they need it. A friendly smile is important as well as polished manners. Remembering their names makes a big difference in adding that personal touch.

What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned about customer service over your career?

Perseverance is important, and so is reliability. But the key to excellent service is being genuine and having a bit of a sense of humour. That really helps you connect with your customer.

What advice would you have for colleagues who are just starting out and want to grow a career in customer service?

Shift work can be tough at times, but you need to work out a way to manage it that works for you.

Jackson joined Railway Club Hotel team as a casual waiter in January 2021. But his obvious passion, drive, and determination quickly saw him moving into a full-time position and joining the venue’s management team within a few short months.

Having worked in hospitality since he was 14, Jackson’s built a wealth of experience across a variety of establishments – everything from cafés, hotels, fine dining, catering, and bars. But he says there’s something special about working at Railway Club, and that’s the community and its reputation.

“The main difference that sticks out to me is the regular clientele. Working somewhere that’s so community orientated is new for me,” he said.

“I think it’s so cool to work somewhere with such a fantastic reputation. That encourages me to keep my service standards high, and motivates me to continuously teach and train team members to make sure we’re all reaching for the same high standards.

“But, the team always surpasses my expectations – because everything that’s needed to be great in hospitality comes so naturally to them.”

So what does it take to be part of the high performing Railway Club team? According to Jackson there are two main keys.

“Wit and self-motivation,” he said.

Australians love their coffee. Around three quarters of us have at least one cup of coffee every day. As a nation, that adds up to around 37 million kilograms of coffee annually.

So what if our daily cuppa was under threat? According to a recent study the world could lose half of its best coffee-growing land because of the effects of climate change.

High in the southern mountains of Rwanda, farmers grow what’s considered to be some of the best quality coffee in the world. Its volcanic soil gives the beans a rich flavour that attracts premium prices internationally.

But in recent years, the industry has been grappling with a range of climate change related issues which have seen a decrease in production. That’s a worrying prospect for the 400,000 famers across the country who rely on the coffee industry for their livelihoods.

So how is climate change impacting coffee crops?

In Rwanda, farmers usually plan their farming around the annual dry and rainy seasons. But climate change has made the usually predictable weather patterns more erratic and extreme.

Torrential flooding washes away the famously nutrient-rich soil; and prolonged droughts prevent the all-important growth of microorganisms that are needed to replenish it and make it fertile again.

But expert advisors from Root Capital have been working closely with farmers to help them get the most out of their land and cope with the ever-changing conditions to secure the future of the industry.

Root Capital is an international non-profit organisation that partners with small and growing agricultural businesses to address their urgent challenges.

They provide catalytic finance and business development to small-scale farmers across the globe and deliver projects with a particular focus on access to finance, climate action, gender equality, and next generation jobs.

Morris Family Foundation has provided financial support for Root Capital for the past four years, backing projects in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa as part of its commitment to sustainable agriculture.

Root Capital’s work in coffee-growing regions in Rwanda has seen them helping farmers implement regenerative agriculture practices which not only improve yields in the short term, but also help to replenish the soil for generations to come.

They’ve also partnered with coffee producers to provide internships, in-person training, and expert advice in field crop production and soil management to build climate resilience for farmers in the region.

Nautilus Aviation has expanded its operations in the Northern Territory with three new bases established in the region.

New bases were set up at the former Jayrow Helicopters bases at Jabiru, Gove and Darwin Airports, complementing their current commercial operations from Emkaytee Airfield at Noonamah.

The expansion will allow Nautilus to increase its commercial offering to include services such as aerial surveys, mining support, remote area operations, media, sling operations, feral animal control, and power line, pipeline, and radio communication tower inspections.

“This increased offering plus our already strong reputation for quality and diversity in our fleet, and commitment to safety means we can continue to deliver exceptional service to our clients no matter what their needs are.”

In addition to the geographical expansion, Nautilus Aviation also announced the acquisition of five Bell 407GXi helicopters which will be used across the fleet in Northern Territory and Queensland.

“The Bell 407GXi helicopter has great all-round visibility and fits in well with our operational requirements and commitment to reducing our carbon footprint,” Mr Finn said.

“With Bell’s excellent track record for customer service, I am confident these new additions to our fleet will serve us well as we grow in the future.”

Seven non-profit organisations have been awarded funding to help them deliver projects that support and strengthen communities and the environment all over the world.

The latest round of funding was announced following Morris Family Foundation’s recent board meeting, which also saw two new organisations receiving foundation support for the first time: The Centre for Policy Development and Cowboys Community Foundation in Townsville.

They join a range of other projects currently receiving support from the foundation across the key impact areas of the environment, equitable growth, sustainable agriculture, and mental health and wellbeing.

The foundation’s ‘climate lens’ also means that grantees must demonstrate that they are working towards a zero carbon future through their projects.

The projects receiving foundation funding are:

• Root Capital who partners with small and growing agricultural businesses in developing nations to address urgent challenges such as access to finance, climate action, gender equity, and next generation jobs.
• Tangaroa Blue who works with communities to remove plastic and other marine debris from the environment, as well as identifying and implementing ways to prevent it from ending up there in the first place.
• Chenla Children’s Healthcare who provides key health services to their local community in remote eastern Cambodia, as well as work to build capacity in the country’s health system.
• Talent Beyond Boundaries who works all around the world helping highly skilled refugees gain employment in roles and industries aligned with their skills and experience.
• Digital Divide Data who provides digital skills training to poor and underserved youth in Cambodia and Laos before moving them into employment in their cloud computing and data entry business, setting them up for further high skilled and higher paid work in the future.
• Centre for Policy Development who leverage their networks in the political and corporate landscapes to influence public policy and ideas over the long term to outlast political cycles, for the greater good of society.
• Cowboys Community Foundation who provides culturally safe school boarding for young indigenous students from remote North Queensland communities at NRL Cowboys House.

The December board meeting for Morris Family Foundation saw five organisations approved for grant funding, including two brand new projects.

The new additions include a national campaign aiming to strengthen Australia’s democracy; and work by a non-government organisation to support communities affected by the transition away from fossil fuels.

Apart from the new projects, the foundation agreed to continue support for three existing partners: Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network (AEGN), So They Can, and Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

The five projects join a range of others currently receiving support from the foundation across the impact areas of the environment, equitable growth, sustainable agriculture, and mental health and wellbeing.

The new projects being supported by the foundation are:

#OurDemocracy campaign

Craig Reucassel (War on Waste; The Chaser) has made a feature documentary that follows Christiaan Van Vuuren (Bondi Hipsters) as he goes on a journey to find out how much money has infiltrated and influenced political decision makers in Australia. Watch the full documentary on ABC iView.

The campaign attached to the film, which was released September 2021, is the #OurDemocracy campaign launched with the Make it a Big Deal website that encourages people to meet their local MP and connect with community groups working to reform our democratic processes. When our political system isn’t working, it functions as an obstacle to progress on every important issue.

Read more

Environment Victoria

Environment Victoria is the state’s leading environmental non-government organisation. In 2021, EV’s aim is to make Victoria a national and global leader on climate action, including working to accelerate the renewable energy transition and restoring the Murray-Darling basin to health.

Their work to accelerate the renewables transition in Victoria includes making sure no communities are left behind as coal-fired power stations are closed ahead of schedule and sometimes without much notice.

Read more

When you educate a girl, she can change her world. That’s the vision that drives Melbourne-based charity One Girl.

Their mission is all about empowering girls through education; and while their goal of educating one million girls across Africa may seem ambitious (and impressive), it’s only a fraction of the estimated 62 million girls around the world who are denied an education every year.

They work in Sierra Leone and Uganda, which are considered some of the worst places in the world to be born a girl. In Sierra Leone, for example, a girl is more likely to be sexually assaulted than she is to go to high school.

But when COVID-19 struck in 2020, One Girl was forced to rethink everything. Nationwide lockdowns and school closures in Sierra Leone meant many of the existing educational programs were unable to continue. So Once Girl’s passionate team went back to the drawing board.

The result was Girl Tok: an innovative and adaptive program that was designed to help keep girls feeling supported, safe and healthy during the pandemic.

Using digital tools and platforms such as mobile phones and WhatsApp, the program helped girls to stay engaged in their education and connected with their peers whilst they weren’t able to physically attend school, as well as preparing them to re-enrol in school once lockdowns were over. The aim was to keep them focused on their studies and their goals for the future.

Trained mentors guided the girls through a series of lessons and activities on topics such as digital literacy, activism, leadership, wellness, body autonomy, and consent.

With schools reopening in the country, Girl Tok is continuing on so it can provide digital lessons for the girls on topics that aren’t always taught in the classroom, such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, and sexual and gender-based violence.

The program has been so successful that it’s now been introduced in Uganda, and there are talks about rolling it out in other parts of the world.

The Albert Park Hotel has been recognised amongst some of the country’s top venues, winning a coveted wine award and a spot in a prestigious food guide.

The hotel received the highest honour at the 2021 Australian Wine List of the Year Awards, winning a three-glass rating for its wine list.

The annual awards are a ranking of the best restaurants and bars in the country, recognising and rewarding exceptional sommeliers, their wine lists, and the owners who have invested in them.

The hotel also has caught the attention of food reviewers, with an appearance in The Age’s Good Food Guide 2022 Edition.

Good Food Guide is an annual list of the best dining hotspots in the state.

The Albert Park Hotel was recognised for its modern Chinese cuisine, winning drinks list, and ‘thirties deco’ inspired interior design.

Among the dishes singled out for high praise were the free-range pork dumplings, roast duck, and typhoon shelter rice; and the fried ice-cream.

Nautilus Aviation will be introducing zero-emission flights over some of Queensland’s most iconic tourist attractions, including the Great Barrier Reef.

Morris Group has announced a new partnership with Eve Urban Air Mobility that will see an initial fleet of 10 new zero-emission, low-noise, vertical take-off and landing aircraft taking off in the future.

The initiative is the latest in Morris Group’s range of sustainability activities across the country which has seen the continued support for the health and sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef through the Reef Keepers program.

Morris Group Founder Chris Morris said the move will bring Morris Group closer to reaching its target of net zero emissions across all its businesses by 2030.

“This partnership is an exciting development for Morris Group,” he said.

“We believe economic success and environmental sustainability go hand-in-hand and aim to strengthen and enrich the environments in which we work.”

Port Melbourne’s much loved institution, The Railway Club Hotel, has become part of Morris Hospitality.

Morris Hospitality CEO Tim Fitzgerald said the hotel was a fitting addition to the group’s portfolio.

“We’re so excited to welcome the Railway Club into the group,” he said.

“Over the years, the Raglan Pub Co team have shaped a unique guest experience and nurtured a brilliant team here, and as a result, can lay claim to a very successful business and well-deserved reputation.

For over 40 years, The Railway Club has been a local favourite and renowned across Melbourne for its premium steaks and warm attentive service.

The hotel’s atmosphere and ambiance have stood the test of time – no pretence, just true Port Melbourne style.

Familiar with the local area, CLG proudly owns and operates iconic local institutions such as The Albert Park Hotel, Brighton’s Half Moon, and Portsea Hotel.