Emerald Lakes

A Place for You and Your Pet at Seachange

by

Our beloved furry friends undoubtedly enhance the quality of life and contribute to emotional and mental wellbeing, especially during periods of isolation or destabilisation.

Research shows pets significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression by providing companionship and boosting vitality.

Seachange Emerald Lakes Community Manager, Leisa Porter and her husband Rodger, Facilities Manager at the resort, adore their dog Ziggy, who has become a valued team member and mascot.

 

“We call Ziggy our site supervisor as a joke because he rides on the buggy – he’s everywhere. When Rodger’s working out in the park and the gardens, Ziggy’s not only company for him, but also for the residents who walk by to stop and pat him,” said Leisa.

“He’s a constant companion, if you’re in bed sick, he’s in bed with you and won’t leave your side. Pets are very intuitive. It’s amazing – their ability to pick up on when something’s not right.”

Seachange Lifestyle Resorts are focused on fostering community relationships between individuals, while also providing a space for residents’ pets to thrive and live their best lives.

 

“For older people, pets are the perfect company. Each night Ziggy takes turns sitting beside Rodger and myself on the couch. He’s our little soul mate.

“We are very mindful of following the rules for pets, we don’t ever let him off the lead, and he knows not to hop off the buggy when he’s with Rodger.”

 

 

Entering into a new season of life can pose a myriad of challenges, making it essential to stay healthy and maintain a connection with the world around us.

“Pets also really help with exercise; we’ve got one lady here who walks her dog twice a day. If not for her dog, she probably wouldn’t go out as much. It also creates a talking point given quite a few people are walking their dogs in the late afternoon, and it creates social chatter.”

Leisa explained that she and Rodger had previously lived in a different community where pets were not allowed.

“That wasn’t fun at all. It’s so much nicer here at Seachange. We have a few people living here with cats, and during COVID restrictions, we had separate driveway dinner parties. One man set a place at the table for his cat, which shows how important our pets are.”

 

Our pets serve as constant companions who are non-judgemental. They are great at letting us know we are needed and also provide a sense of security.

“Ziggy will run down the hallway to meet us, and it grounds you, reminds you that life is pretty amazing. It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had; they are always happy to see you because it’s unconditional love,” said Leisa.

 

Honouring His Royal Duties 60 Years On

by

Ever wondered what it would be like working at Buckingham Palace for the Royal Family? Michael Heath, 78, knows the palace’s ins and outs, being a footman from the ripe age of 18. “My father had a friend who was a Page of the Presence, and that’s how I got the job working as a footman,” said Mr Heath, who now lives at Seachange Lifestyle Resort Emerald Lakes.

 

Mr Heath fondly remembers looking outside his bedroom window one day, which was located on Buckingham Palace’s top left-hand corner. “Someone spotted me through the window, and before I knew it, a crowd of people waved at me, and I waved back. They probably thought I was a Royal waving at them,” he joked. He witnessed the most extravagant and fabulous parties with many royals and famous people in attendance during his tenure.

 

Honouring his code of conduct even 60 years on, Mr Heath remains tight-lipped on his experience at the palace. “I am always cautious of what I say because you know some things are very personal, and I wouldn’t like to be known as a person who told their secrets,” he said. The modest former footman made it clear that honesty and politeness are the essential qualities that can get you very far in life and your career. “I like to think I have a bit of an effervescent personality, that seems to get you very far too,” said Mr Heath.

 

After his stint at the Buckingham Palace, Mr Heath worked at the American Embassy residence at Regents Parks, working alongside multimillionaire and publisher of The New York Herald Tribune, Mr John Hay Whitney. Mr Heath said he would never forget the time Mr Whitney’s wife spent £35,000 on Christmas decorations from Harrods, which is the equivalent to £820,000 (almost $1.5m Australian Dollars) today’s money. Mrs Whitney had some unusual requests. “She had her sheets ironed every night before bed because she didn’t like creases in the sheets,” he said.

 

After working as a footman for many years, Mr Heath worked in a Soho coffee bar, called “Act One Scene One”. “I had the Rolling Stones come into my coffee shop, even Tommy Steele,” said Mr Heath. Mr Heath has been fortunate enough to travel worldwide for work; he even lived in New Zealand after joining the Merchant Navy. He now enjoys an active yet quieter life at Emerald Lakes.

 

“I love living here at Seachange. I enjoy the community as I am very sports orientated,” he said. Mr Heath and his wife, Sue, enjoy playing trivial pursuit with other residents of Seachange. “Our only downfall is when they start asking questions about Australia,” he said. “But after being in Australia for 14 years, I am now starting to get better with those answers.”

 

Roving Twilight Concerts are a hit at Seachange

by

It was wonderful to have both Channel 7 News and the Gold Coast Bulletin visit Seachange Arundel on Friday to cover our Roving Twilight Concert.

This was the second event of its kind at Seachange Arundel and a great opportunity for our home owners to come together and enjoy some fun and frivolity while staying safe and practising social distancing.

Talented performers Tracey Leigh and Glenn Shields serenaded our community from the street from 4pm-6pm while home owners kicked up their heels and had a dance.  The festive atmosphere was enhanced by the addition of a “holiday at home” theme with prizes for best dressed and best decorations.  There was some fierce competition amongst our more creative residents…stay tuned for the results.

At Seachange Toowoomba the slight chill in the air didn’t stop the fun as Raquelle Pedler brought her Jazz tunes to the streets for their outdoor concert.

A few of the best dressed…

 

Seachange Home Owners to Safely Commemorate Anzac Day

by

There was a wonderful article in the Gold Coast Bulletin today about one of our Home Owners at Seachange Arundel and the plans for Anzac Day at resort this week.

Clive Mitchell-Taylor OAM, a Vietnam Veteran who leads the 12-strong ANZAC Day committee, said they were gearing up for what they hoped would be their largest ANZAC event to date, despite COVID-19.

It will have the key elements of a traditional ANZAC Day service but rather than head to their community’s cenotaph, residents at Seachange Lifestyle Resort will be able to watch a Facebook livestream from the safety of their own living rooms.

“This is the first time we have hosted the event in such a way, however we have a duty to protect our residents and the staff who work here,” said Mr Mitchell-Taylor, who served for 33 years in the Australian Army including a year in Vietnam.

“We have more than 30 veterans in our community and our ongoing mission to publicly acknowledge military service to our nation is stronger than ever during these unprecedented times.”

The special event, beginning at 6.20am on Saturday, will include The Ode, Last Post, a minute’s silence, The Rouse, raising of the Australian National Flag to full mast and the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems. Wreaths will then be laid at the Cenotaph on behalf of the Seachange veterans, the Seachange community and Seachange management. Residents may place their personal floral tributes at the Cenotaph later in the morning.  Seachange have also arranged a coffee van to be available during the morning to enable those who lay tributes to enjoy  a coffee in exchange for a gold coin donation with proceeds going to the Southport RSL.

“Residents are then encouraged to light a candle and stand in their driveways, while our community manager drives a piper around the resort. I believe this will be a special time to remember the fallen and those still serving.”

Seachange Lifestyle Resort Operations Manager Mia Pradella said she was focused on maintaining a sense of community at the resort, with safety of residents at the core.

“The value of living in a safe and supportive community like ours has never been greater,” said Ms Pradella.

“We want our residents to have the best possible lifestyle and continuing to support them with events and activities like this is key.”

Each of the Seachange Resorts has something special planned for Saturday to enable the communities to come together safely commemorate.

How Seachange are responding to the COVID-19 situation

by

As the global Coronavirus (COVID- 19) situation continues to evolve, we at Seachange are continually assessing how we can best operate with the well being of our home owners, staff and prospective purchasers as our absolute priority.

The below are the additional measures that we have put in place in line with the advice provided by the Australian Government.

  • We have increased our sanitation procedures in all of our resorts and increased our cleaning regimes.
  • We have temporarily closed our recreational facilities to ensure the safety of all home owners.
  • Our Staff are working from home where possible.
  • We are ensuring that all visitors, trades, prospective purchasers and contractors confirm in writing that they comply with current guidelines and sign in before being allowed entry to the resort.
  • Prospective purchasers visiting our resorts are invited to do so by private appointment with our sales team who are taking additional measures to ensure adherence with social distancing guide lines including supplying gloves, hand sanitiser and masks.
  • Our Operations staff have completed online certification in Infection Control training.
  • We are working closely with our Home Owners Committees to assess the best ways to support our communities through this time.
  • We are reaching out to home owners that are in isolation to provide assistance with accessing essential supplies

At Seachange we believe in building communities of like-minded people, not just houses. In these times of uncertainty, community is of more importance than ever and we will continue to look at the best ways to support our home owners through this time. Thank you for considering joining one of our Seachange resorts and we look forward to welcoming you for a personal tour in the near future.

Another Award for Pradella Property Ventures!

by

We are extremely proud of 2019 UDIA Women in Leadership Winner and Pradella Property Ventures Chief Financial Officer Elaine Opferkuch who was recently featured in Establish Magazine.

Read the full article by Nadia Howland below…

For Elaine Opferkuch, hearing the words “You can’t” is like waving a red flag at a bull.
“My biggest achievements career-wise have been the ones that started out as the biggest challenges,” she says.

“When I started at Pradella, I was advised by many that funding the 414-lot Seachange Arundel project in the middle of the GFC was impossible. Well, those were the wrong words to the wrong person! Certainly, I had my fair share of unsuccessful attempts where the answer was ‘we are not funding SEQ’ or the amount offered was insufficient. But I ended up securing funding with a bank that believed in us and our ability to deliver. We kept our word, we delivered as promised, and they are one of our current funding pillars.”

Dogged, driven, and determined to stick to her word no matter what these are attributes that have seen Elaine achieve the unachievable time, and time again, throughout her career.  “My father owned a caravan park when I was growing up, so I saw him develop it from the ground up into a thriving community. I’m also a renovator myself, so I think these practical traits have given me the ability to sit at the boardroom table and negotiate pricing and terms based on actual experience,” she explains.

Elaine’s career has encompassed stints with various building and development companies, fixing their accounting and finance departments and managing tight cashflow and bank negotiations while facing financial obstacles. The diverse scope of work gave her an in-depth understanding of all facets of the development and building industry.

“Many of these firms had outdated accounting systems requiring replacement and implementation. The job costing and estimating wouldn’t integrate with general ledger, and cashflow and budgeting required management. I assessed the problems, implemented the solution and managed the outcome, and only when problems converted to maintaining the system would I move on to the next challenge,” Elaine says.

“After working for Berela, where we were taken over by another development company, I thought I would try something different to see if my skills could be transferable to another industry.

“I took up a position at Ipswich Grammar School as Secretary to the Board and Commercial Manager. The school was going through a rough cashflow patch. It took three years to turn it around. I was able to negotiate a $4 million grant from the Federal Government via utilising changes in school categorisation policy (being innovative), which brought money into the school’s operational account. For the building fund, I initiated and had approval to do a greenfield development at Brassall

whereby I project managed the development, which proved successful. I negotiated a grant and external funding to build the new junior school building and complex and bought and sold houses-all bringing money into the building fund. Happy days!”
Adding to her impressive track record, Elaine has also been a financial controller, secretary to the board of public, private and not-for-profit organisations and CFO for both public and private entities.

She has been Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Pradella Property Ventures (PPV) Board for more than 10 years, and says she works with an amazing team and workplace culture. “It’s great being part of the history of the organisation and its decision-making processes,” Elaine says.

“Above everything, Pradella is a positive influence in this industry, being innovative and a role model for other development firms. Lenders know we are 100 percent true to our word and will deliver what we promise every single time. Customers know we will go above and beyond to listen to their needs and deliver community-driven outcomes.”
Asked what winning the 2019 Women in Leadership Award means to her, Elaine says the recognition has encouraged her to use her experience and voice to inspire and encourage young people, particularly women, to see the importance in “behind the scenes roles” and give back to the building and construction industry.

“Often, finance and accounting teams sit in the shadows in our industry,” Elaine says.
“But without us, these projects wouldn’t get off the ground. I want this Award to inspire other women to keep pressing forward being the best they can be. You have a voice and you should feel valued. It has built my confidence not only knowing my contribution matters but that others also believe in me too.

Elaine has sage advice for those starting out in development or looking to pursue a career in the industry: “To be successful, I believe you need to be true to your own core values and have passion in what you do,” she explains.

“My core values are honesty, integrity, professionalism, and respect. Understand your own values and stay true to them. Be keen to learn and listen. And remember, leadership is less about yourself and more about the people around you. When we genuinely care about the wellbeing of people around us in business and life, amazing things happen. The more you invest in them, the more they invest in you.”