On 2 April 2019 we were once again inspired and wowed by the extraordinary talent of our young people in this region.We honoured 7 more wonderful people and also gave out 2 re-grants.
The calibre of these young people in both their chosen endeavours and public speaking is truly impressive.Each showed a confidence beyond their years, gratitude for those who help them and awareness of the greater community.
Our grantees were:
Samantha Grammer - Ballet
Samuel Lee - Violin
Josh Gwynne - Tennis
Finn Sloan - Woodchopping
Phoebe Trolove - Rowing
Callum Saunders - Cycling
Jade Otway - Tennis
And regrants to
Connor Guillemot - Triathlon
Brett McKeown - Pipe Band
It was also the first time we held our grantee evening in the 750-seat auditorium of the ASB Theatre.It was almost a sell out and certainly raised the bar on the level of organisation this volunteer committee had to execute.
We were very honoured to have as our key note speaker, William Trubridge. William’s humility and Zen like presence was wonderful to witness, and his opening paragraph about looking for the inspiration in the everyday things, showed both the humility in the man and the deeper spirituality he has for life.His advice for being able to relax and deal with nerves was gold, because if there is ever someone that must walk the talk in his chosen field, he is it – after all he cannot afford to let adrenaline or nerves get the better of him when he is 100m below the surface!
Our MC for the evening was Barry Maister ONZM, and he did a sterling job. We were also thrilled to have our ambassador Joseph Sullivan with us.His presence and his way with the grantees is such an asset and we are very proud to have him with us, we are very grateful to have the support of these 2 gentleman.Joseph also casually announced he has made the New Zealand team for the next Americas Cup Challenge. Congratulations Joseph – we are thrilled for you and will enjoy watching those biceps burst through the next round of shirts.
A successful evening all round and now we start preparing for the next grantee evening to be held in November 2019.