CANCER was in the crosshairs at Deery Consulting’s well-organised and scrumptious morning tea in Inverloch, at which locally raised Olympic rower Drew Ginn spoke of his complicated relationship with the disease, and funds were raised for the Cancer Council.
Drew lost both parents to cancer, his mother when he was just 11 and his father four years ago.
“Cancer took my mother away from me but gave me an unusual amount of motivation to make everything I did count, and without the loss I wouldn’t have been the athlete I turned into,” he said.
“Some of the best experiences in my life have come because of cancer and that makes me feel weird and guilty.”
Sport was an escape, an ability to get away from the worries life presented.
His rowing career included being a member of Australia’s gold medal winning coxless four team at the Atlanta Olympics, fondly nicknamed the ‘Awesome Foursome’.
He won gold in the coxless pairs at the Athens and Beijing Olympics and picked up a silver in the coxless four in London.
The audience heard Drew’s recollections of watching hurdler Debbie Flintoff King competing in the 1988 Olympics, something that inspired the small town boy to want to achieve something comparable.
Seeing the Awesome Foursome’s 1992 Olympic success furthered his ambition.
He spoke of his Olympic racing memories, beginning as an exuberant 20-year-old with more experienced teammates in 1996.
Drew has long been involved in Tour de Cure, an Australian charity raising money to fund cancer research.
“I wanted to make a bigger difference,” he said, explaining that as an ambassador he helps raise funds and awareness.
He noted that while cancer research breakthroughs are happening all the time, they cost a lot of money.
“So, the funding you’re doing here today and the support you’re giving is awesome,” he told the morning tea attendees.
Deery Consulting office manager Robyn Hodson is the organisational force behind the team’s Biggest Morning Tea event, organising sponsors for the fund-raising silent auctions and raffle, and arranging the guest speaker and impressive selection of sweet and savoury food.
Local business Paul the Pieman provided the food, generously donating the scones, jam and cream, with everything else at a discount.
Baker and one of the business’ operators, Mitch Woods is delighted to contribute.
“We do a lot of stuff for the Cancer Council, so we’re always happy to do donations for things like this, involve the community and help support a good cause,” he said.
Robyn said Deery Consulting began its involvement with the Biggest Morning Tea during the pandemic, in between lockdowns, as a way of bringing the community together to provide a place to connect.
She spoke of the prevalence of cancer and the fact staff at the business have loved ones impacted by it.
Having outlined some grim statistics, Robyn moved onto a positive outlook for the future.
“I want to make today about hope and the Cancer Council’s vision is all about hope; they hope for a cancer free future and that by 2030 cervical cancer will be eliminated in Victoria, so let’s hope the researchers in their labs find the breakthroughs they are looking for,” she said.
Robyn considers it an honour to organise the morning tea, noting it wouldn’t happen without the support of sponsors and attendees.
She was congratulated by Bass Coast Shire councillor Brett Tessari, along with everyone who helped with the organisational efforts or contributed to the cause.