After more than twenty years of involvement as school coach, evaluator and administrator in Future Problem Solving, Jan Hales has tendered her resignation from the Executive of Future Problem Solving Program Australia. This is the next stage of her transition out of professional life as she, in her words, feels "that it is time to smell a few roses and get out and about!" Jan is on long service leave prior to retiring from her school position, and will be vacating her roles as FPS NSW State Convenor and Scenario Writing Co-ordinator over the next two to three months.
It is difficult to encapsulate the full contribution that Jan Hales has made to the development of Future Problem Solving in Australia, but the fact that her achievements have been recognized at national level (Fellow of the FPSP Australia Roll of Honour) and international level ( the Keith Frampton Award for Coaches, from FPSP International) gives some indication of their extent and the esteem in which she is held. As a coach, she has maintained a remarkable record, with regular national championships in the Global Issues Problem Solving (Booklet) section, as well international championships in the same competition. She is one of the few Australian coaches to have taken students to the International Finals in three forms of FPS (booklet, Scenario Writing and Community Problem Solving), as well as being a major evaluator at national and international levels.
In some ways, however, Jan's more lasting contribution to FPS has been in the area of state and national administration. She was one of the central figures on the initial FPS NSW Committee, and has been its national representative ever since. In recent years, she became part of the Executive or Committee of Management of the national association, focusing on the oversight finances, but also making major contributions to initiatives such as the introduction of non-Victorian national finals and the E. Paul Torrance Youth Awards. She has also looked after the Scenario Writing Competition for a number of years.
As National Director, I have appreciated her astute mind in all matters and respected her great determination to do what was best for the students and schools in the FPS Program. Her reliability and meticulous nature have made a much-admired colleague on the National Association, and she will be sorely missed. On behalf of the FPS community here and abroad, we thank her for all that she has done, and wish her all the best for what will be undoubtedly a very active ‘retirement'.
Jan Hales: end of an FPS era
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