Federal Council
Committee 29 July 1982 - 31 July 1985
President 31 July 1985 - 28 July 1988
Immediate Past President 28 July 1988 - 01 Aug 1991
Qld State Council
Committee 29 Sep 1977 -12 Oct 1979
Committee 09 Oct 1980 - 09 Oct 1981
President 03 Sep 1982 - 17 Oct 1986
Immediate Past President 17 Oct 1986 - 11 Oct 1991
Patron, ICPA Queensland 2002 - present
Branch
Augathella Inaugural Branch President
Cloncurry Branch President
Charleville Branch of the Air Inaugural Secretary /Treasurer
ICPA Awards
1987 Presented with ICPA Cloncurry Branch Life Membership
1992 Presented with ICPA Australia Award of Merit 30 July 1992.
1992 Presented with ICPA QLD Certificate of Appreciation
1996 Presented with ICPA Qld Life Membership
2019 Presented with ICPA Australia Life Membership
Other Distinctions
1996 Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia General Division
About Mrs Patricia Mitchell OAM
Mrs. Patricia Mitchell (known as Trish) has a long history with ICPA. In 1973, Trish called a meeting of interested people in Augathella to talk about a fairly new organisation - The Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association. From that meeting, Augathella Branch was formed, and Trish was elected the inaugural Branch President.
Trish has been an ICPA member since the formation of that branch. Trish also assisted Charleville Branch of the Air with their formation in 1976 and she was their first Branch Secretary/Treasurer. In addition, Trish is proudly a member of the Cloncurry Branch, having served previously as Cloncurry Branch President, and she became a Cloncurry Branch Life Member in 1987.
Trish has served on both Qld State and Federal Councils. She became a Queensland State Councillor in 1977 and was elected to Federal Council in 1982. As the first female Queensland President (1982-1986), Trish also became the first female Federal President in 1985 while continuing on as the Queensland President at the same time. She was the Federal President until 1988 and then the Immediate Past President until 1991, a total of 9 years on Federal Council.
As mentioned Trish is a Cloncurry Branch Life Member and to add to that accolade, in 1992, she was the third person in the organisation to be awarded a Federal Award of Merit. She received Queensland State Life Membership in 1995 and became the Patron of Qld ICPA in 2002 and she continues in this role today.
There is a long list of committees, submissions, delegations and conferences of which Trish has been a part, but the length of this list does not adequately explain the depth of commitment she has given to ICPA and her efforts towards the betterment of education for rural and remote children. In 1996, Trish was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia General Division (OAM) for service to rural education and The Arts.
Trish has also strongly supported both state and federal councils over the years and continued to be involved, active and supportive of ICPA and its advocacy. No matter what Trish is involved in, she is always looking for where ICPA might be mentioned, or a connection made that might further the cause.
Mrs Patricia Mitchell OAM was awarded with Federal Life Membership at the 2019 Federal Conference in Adelaide.
