GO Maara Lunch & Auction - Result

“We are the champions my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions, we are the champions
No time for losers
Cause we are the champions of the world”

I’m not the biggest Queen fan but in my view this excerpt from one of their songs captures the resolve to fight cancer that was rife at the GO Maara lunch on Sunday. Maara was given a clear message by her friends, old and new, that she would not be fronting the cancer battle alone. This was great comfort to her and of course the kids and me.

Many people who could not make the event represented their support through providing auction items, bids, money and heartfelt messages of encouragement. Thank you to absent friends.

In his unique way, Bill Mathews conducted a full afternoon program of laughter and entertainment that set the scene for what turned out to be a memorable occasion. Watching Bill masterfully work the audience spoke volumes to me about his ability to build a successful company like GO and out of that, create a team of people who now enjoy valuable friendships with each other.

Wine flowed, delectable food was neatly consumed and catch up conversations were abuzz all over the restaurant. We rocked to the sounds of Freddie Mercury impersonator Steve and delighted in watching people squirm as he invaded their “space”. Thank you Ramona McCambridge for returning the microphone to Freddie so that he could continue his act.

Big thanks to Mike Geary who assembled a very impressive register of auction items. Obviously Mike’s “Tony Soprano” influencing strategies worked a treat with suppliers. This list was further enhanced by offers from Thanee Chatsinchai, Lynley Mitchell, Emma Haworth and Sarah Hunter. Sorry team you probably didn’t want your names mentioned but at the end of the day, I know people, who know people who run this blog, so…too bad!

Bill and Mike did a fabulous job finding new homes for all the auction packages. Would you buy a used car from these individuals? Perhaps that’s a note to self. Anyway, they made sure it was a win / win situation for all parties.

Thank you. Last but not least Noelann Davies drove a robust campaign to organize and sell tickets for the beauty basket raffle. How appropriate that the raffle was won by the Cake Maker. We could not have scripted a better result. Noelann raised $1000 from the raffle alone. Fantastic!

As for how much was raised in total…..you may find this hard to believe because Maara and I found it hard to believe…….. $15,000. This was well above expectation and has pushed us so close to the finishing line. JUST TOO INCREDIBLE for words.

Junior