Officially, today is World Plumbing Day, but many plumbers and those that work in the industry, celebrated yesterday morning with a breakfast at Hillstone where we also found out the new Female Ambassador for Plumbing for 2017.
I attended as a guest, with Jacob and my dad to not only celebrate WPD, but also see who would be the new female ambassador.
New Female Ambassador for Plumbing 2017
Imagine my delight at finding out it was my friend in the industry, Carlie Low.
Carlie is someone I’ve always respected as a plumber and she was the only female plumber I knew when I was completing my apprenticeship. Carlie is passionate about getting more women to learn a trade and she LOVES speaking at schools and TAFE to encourage students to consider an apprenticeship.
This year, the ambassadorship will focus on raising awareness to students about studying an apprenticeship and explaining where a trade can take them. Carlie is the perfect role model and candidate to do these presentations. Congratulations Carlie on being this year’s Female Ambassador for Plumbing. I know you will plunge into your new role with ease. #punintended
World Plumbing Day Breakfast
The breakfast yesterday morning was well presented and had a wonderful attendance from plumbers, apprentices and those that work in the industry. The annual event is one the Master Plumbers’ Association of QLD organise each year. Despite WPD falling today, the events are organized on a work day – which saw little complaining from those that attended.
The Honorouble Cameron Dick, Minister for Health and Minister for Health spoke about the importance of plumbers to the health of the community. It was encouraging to see other MP’s in attendance at the breakfast as well, which shows how well supported our industry is by the State Government.
We got to hear about Orange Sky Laundry, a free mobile laundry for the homeless. I heard about these guys at the Problogger Conference last year. The two young men who presented at the breakfast were so well spoken and their presentation was inspiring. I walked away from the breakfast encouraged to never rub off an absurd idea if it has the potential to help people. Orange Sky Laundry are bringing hope to our cities and their passion is infectious. Their presentation was one of my favourite parts of the breakfast.
The breakfast for me yesterday highlighted how much we can often take for granted. Clean drinking water, hot water, boiling water, flushing toilets, running showers and washing machines truly do make our lives so much easier and comfortable.
We need licensed plumbers and initiatives like Orange Sky Laundries, who can solve a basic need and bring hope to those that require it.
While we can get overwhelmed by changes to the industry and fight against those that may impact plumbers negatively, we should never forget our why for doing what we do.
It’s not always for the money.
It’s not necessarily for the experience.
Mostly it’s the joy of being able to help someone practically.
As Carlie reminded me (and her friends on Facebook) last night, the next time you drink a glass of water, realise how lucky you are to retrieve it from a tap.
A licensed plumber ensured that water was plumbed into your house. Without them, we wouldn’t have the many basic fixtures we take for granted each day.
Thank you to the MPAQ for once again championing licensed plumbers and recognizing another female plumber. 2017 is shaping to be a busy but exciting year for the industry.
