Barwon Health Foundation Ambassadors
Meet the Barwon Health Foundation Ambassadors Denis Walter, Tom Lonergan, Grant Sutherland, Eloise Southby-Halbish, Mike Hirst and Nathan Deakes.
The Ambassadors and Patron Peter Hitchener will be supporting and promoting Geelong Hospital Appeal events. They are dedicated to raising the profile and community support for the Geelong Hospital Appeal. The community will see them in action at forthcoming events including Gforce Gala Day on November 19 and Run Geelong on November 20.
Denis Walter - Afternoon presenter 3AW
Denis is Geelong born and bred and proudly supports many charitable causes. The 3AW radio host has added ambassador for Barwon Health to that list and is looking forward to his involvement. Denis continues television work, singing and corporate commitments as part of a busy schedule.
Denis’s next involvement with the Geelong Hospital Appeal will be in the Gforce Gala Day parade through the Geelong city centre on November 19. Denis will join sporting personalities, mascots and children’s characters including BUGS BUNNY and BOB THE BUILDER in the parade.
Tom Lonergan – Geelong Football Club star
Tom Lonergan was selected by Geelong at pick 23 in the 2002 national draft. Tom played in the recent AFL Grand Final, two NAB Cup premierships and the 2007 VFL premiership where he was awarded the 2007 Norm Goss Medal. Tom has been honoured with a number of awards while at Geelong including: Best clubman 2010: Runner up VFL best & fairest 2006: Community champion 2007: VFL - Norm Goss Medal 2007.
Tom said “I am proud to be an ambassador for the Geelong Hospital Appeal. In my hour of need, the hospital was there for me, the staff were terrific and I cannot speak highly enough of their dedication. I can never repay them for saving my life; this is my way of giving back”.
Grant Sutherland – CEO the Gordon
Grant has been CEO of the Gordon since September 2006. In September 2010 under Grant’s leadership, the Gordon won the Victorian Training Awards as the number one training provider. Also, in 2010 Grant was awarded the National CEO of the Year by the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI). He has extensive experience as a Director at Board level.
Grant said “This is a privilege for me and I hope I can help this great cause”.
Grant will be at Gforce Gala Day and will be participating in Run Geelong on November, 20.
Run Geelong is organised by the Cotton On Foundation with 100% entry fee donated to the Geelong Hospital Children’s Ward redevelopment.
Eloise Southby-Halbish - Netballer, coach and media personality
Eloise was an integral and prominent member of the Melbourne Phoenix Netball team. Eloise’s ‘off court’ commitments are extensive and have included traineeship consultant with AFL SportsReady, radio panelist and commentator. Eloise moved to Barwon Heads and is juggling parenthood, netball and media commitments. She continues to coach St Josephs in the local Geelong Netball league.
Eloise said “I wanted to be involved as an ambassador because I would like to support the hospital that supports the local community. The work that the hospital does is world class and I hope I can encourage all netballers in the region to get behind the Appeal”.
Eloise will be at Gala Day to help with the Community Care Chemist Netball ‘Shootout’ competition.
Nathan Deakes – Athlete
Nathan’s achievements include: World Champion 2007 - 50km Walk: Former World Record Holder - 50km Walk: Australian Male Athlete of the Year 2006: Four time Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist: Olympic Bronze Medallist 2004 - 20km Walk
Nathan said “ The Geelong Hospital is a vital lifeline to our community, and it is safe to say that each and every citizen has either been directly or indirectly assisted by the hospital. As such, I view my support of the Geelong Hospital Appeal as an obligation, to ensure this indispensable continues to be available and accessible to all.
Mike Hirst – Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
Mike was appointed Managing Director in July 2009 and has extensive experience in banking, treasury, funds management and financial markets. He was also a past director of Barwon Health.
Mike said “In the almost 10 years I spent on the Barwon Health board I had the privilege to observe the extraordinary dedication and care that the Barwon Health staff provide to our community. Often that is done in trying circumstances and with limited resources so anything that can be done to assist these wonderful people to provide even better care is time well spent”.
