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Outstanding alumni to receive awards
The University of the Sunshine Coast will honour three of its high-achieving graduates at its annual Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards ceremony on Tuesday 14 September.
This year’s award winners are popular children’s author Dr Gary Crew, the CEO of Hong Kong’s Financial Reporting Council Dr PM Kam and Townsville-based Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Prevention Coordinator Madonna Kennedy.
The awards recognise USC alumni (graduates) for significant achievements in their fields of endeavour, from professional and academic achievements to research and community work.
Dr Gary Crew graduated with a Doctor of Creative Arts from USC in 2005. He is an award-winning author of more than 40 novels and illustrated books for children and youth. He has won the Australian Children's Book of the Year award four times, and a host of other awards including: the National Children's Book Award; the Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing; the Aurealis Award for Speculative Fiction and both the Wilderness Society Award and Royal Zoological Award for Environmental Writing.
Dr Crew is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at USC. In 2006, he received the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Researcher, as well as a national Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
Dr PM Kam is the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong’s Financial Reporting Council, a statutory body established to investigate auditing irregularities and non-compliance of accounting requirements. He previously worked for Jardine Matheson until March 2010, having been its Group Financial Controller for more than 25 years. Jardine Matheson has 50,000 employees and an annual turnover of $30 billion.
PM is an Adjunct Associate Professor of the School of Accountancy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an Adjunct Professor of City University of Hong Kong. He attained his PhD from USC in 2008, and his thesis was on corporate governance and earnings management in Hong Kong. 
Madonna Kennedy graduated from USC in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science (Public Health). She is now an Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Prevention Coordinator based in Townsville. This is a senior position within the Division of the Chief Health Officer, Queensland Health, and involves the planning, implementation, management, evaluation and reporting of key ATOD prevention activities for the area between Mackay and the Torres Strait Islands and west to the Northern Territory border.
Madonna also has contributed to the health promotion profession as both national treasurer and president of the Queensland branch of the Australian Health Promotion Association.
USC’s Alumni Relations Officer Anita Edmonds said all USC graduates were welcome to attend the Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards ceremony at the University from 5.30pm on 14 September.
“The evening will provide a great opportunity for alumni to reconnect with the University and network with fellow graduates,” she said.
Graduates can contact Anita Edmonds via email at alumni@usc.edu.au or phone (07) 5459 4564.
— Terry Walsh