Third "Best Things in Life" Dinner Another Great Success
29 July 2011
A torrentially wet winters’ night was no match for the swish surrounds of the Ivy on Thursday 21st of July where our third and most successful dinner to date was held.
More than $280,000 was raised from the sell out event! It is a phenomenal result that substantially surpasses previous dinners.
Foundation sponsors Woolworths Limited and Coca-Cola Amatil co-hosted the dinner and both company CEO's, Michael Luscombe and Warwick White, spoke about the need to help this cause and their reasons for supporting it. The widow of Warwick’s mentor, and friend, who had succumbed to pancreatic cancer, was a special guest at the dinner.
- Caroline Kelly explains the foundations success over the past year and goals for the year ahead
- Angela Catterns once again MC for the evening
- The dinner gets underway
- Michael Luscombe, CEO of Woolworths, makes the welcome address
- Warwick White, CEO of CCA, talks of his involvement and commitment to the foundation
- Warwick White & Michael Luscombe present a cheque for the foundation - accepted by Caroline
- Peter Fitzsimmons has the crowd entertained with his stories
- Foundation Ambassador Norman Swan enlightens with technology advances in medicine
- Comedian, Author Anh Do related with genuine pathos his life in arriving and living in Australia
- The popular Silent Auction items
- More silent auction items
- A guest checks the live auction catalogue
- Auctioneer Stewart Langton gets bidding underway
- Professor Andrew Biankin, Caroline, Warwick White and Michael Luscombe
- Grant O'Brien, Foundation Director, and Caroline announce awards for Gilbert & Tobin and Inghams Enterprises
Caroline spoke about the research that will offer hope for future patients and the new support services initiative aimed at helping patients in the short term.
Author, journalist and raconteur Peter Fitzsimmons regaled the audience with stories from his sporting and literary careers and comedian & multi-award winning author Anh Do, told of his family’s escape from Vietnam and becoming established in the Australian way of life.
Foundation ambassador Norman Swan explained his reasons for supporting pancreatic cancer and translated the pancreatic cancer world of medicine to the non-medical audience.
Auctioneer Stewart Langton achieved great results from the live auction with more than $40,000 achieved for the top auction item alone!
Awards were given to two Companies – Gilbert + Tobin (Law firm) and Inghams Enterprises (Poultry Producer), for their outstanding support of the Foundation.
The formal dinner proceedings closed with a speech from Foundation Director, Grant O'Brien, thanking everyone for helping the Foundation achieve what it has and encouraging attendees to continue their support.
The Foundation acknowledges and thanks all the companies who purchased tables and auction items, the Woolworths senior executive who hosted the tables, donors of auction items, volunteers – Lee-Anne Dean, Louise Culbert and Maysoon El-Ahmad, MC Angela Catterns, Peter Fitzsimmons, Anh Do, Stewart Langton, Michael Luscombe and Warwick White and organiser of the dinner – Donna Patchett.