STANTHORPE State High remembered those who made the ultimate sacrifice in their own full-school Anzac Day service on Tuesday, April 24.

The service, led by school leaders Jaimee Beecham, Brielle Williamson, Spencer Jensen and Jake Burnell, highlighted ordinary men who undertook extraordinary feats during the war.

The Last Post and Reveille were sounded by Jono Bushby and members of the Stanthorpe Scout Group raised the Australian flag to complete the very moving service.

On Anzac Day, school leaders attended the Stanthorpe dawn service and laid a wreath on behalf of Stanthorpe State High School. The march was very well attended by students from all year levels, demonstrating respect for service personnel - past, present and future.

Customer Service Conference

The QCWT was the venue for the recent Customer Service Conference where students from Certificate II in Tourism and/or Hospitality came together to meet and learn from industry representatives.

For many students, this was their first conference experience. They arrived, registered and collected their conference packs and name badges. Guest speakers Gerard Torrisi from Helloworld Stanthorpe and local experienced traveller Santina Leonardi spoke about customer service and special needs.

Students were fascinated by Santina's travel stories and developed an understanding of the amount of work travel agents like Gerard undertake to assist tourists with their holiday plans.

Students experienced breakout sessions with Leeanne Gangemi from Ballandean Estate, Tony and Mary Comino from Kominos Wines and Catherine Orford from USQ.

Each session focused on a particular element of customer service - dealing with social and cultural differences, customer complaints and exceeding customer expectations.

Another guest speaker was Apple & Grape Festival president Greg Thouard. He spoke about his lifetime experiences in dealing with customers in his job and on community committees.

Greg's main point was to listen to and respond to customer feedback. Students also enjoyed delicious morning tea and lunch during breaks and a big thanks goes to the QCWT for supporting this realistic conference experience.

Thank you to the presenters for giving their valuable time to engage with students. Feedback from the attendees was very favourable and students appreciated interacting with and learning from all industry speakers.