Committee

Rod Flavell - President

Rod Flavell has been the chair of SPAN since its inception in 2011 when he was Manager Community Services with the City of Greater Bendigo. Rod is now retired but still actively involved with SPAN.

Alannah McGregor - Secretary 

One of the founding members of SPAN Central Victoria, Alannah is passionate about the work she puts into the Suicide Prevention Awareness Network. 

Having lost two children to suicide just one month apart in 2002 Alannah understands the effect of stigma and grief after a suicide death.

Alannah is a trained Lived Experience speaker and is a member of Standby and Suicide Prevention Australia.

Dionne Lynch

Dionne has been secretary for SPAN and is now a General Committee member. She lives in Bendigo and works in Community Services.

Bette Phillips-Campbell Vice President

Bette is a founding member of SPAN Bendigo. Beginning the group with Alannah McGregor  and Rod Case who recognised the need for an awareness of the issue of suicide in Bendigo and surrounds.

Bette is Manager of GriefWork – Uniting, a service that provides support to families where work has been a contributing factor in a death. This includes work related suicide. Bette has held this position for the past 20 years and offers a wide range of support programs to families who have lost a loved one to a work death.

The Late Rod Case 

Rod was editor of the Bendigo Advertiser newspaper in 2011 when approached by Bette Phillips-Campbell and Alannah McGregor about the city’s need for a group to raise community awareness of suicide prevention. The Addy drove a community push to establish the group which continues today as SPAN Central Victoria and hosts the annual Suicide Prevention Walk each March attended by hundreds of people. The Addy also published a number of bold front pages which broke convention and thrust suicide into the public spotlight to increase awareness and discussion. Rod continues on the SPAN committee today as a representative of Bendigo Community Health Services.