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Simon Meyer Night - Report.
*This report comes from the Simon Meyer website.
The euphoria from Friday 13th February will never leave our family. On this evening, 7 months after Simon?s accident, a Benefit Dinner was held attended by over 350 people. It was a glittering success in every way humanly possible and then it was more. There is that mysterious part of the human spirit that once activated turns the inanimate perfection into a sublime experience.
The venue Le Montage was gorgeous. There were white clothed tables bedecked with candelabras and black fabric chairs tied with huge white bows and all looking out toward the tranquil waters of the bay and inward toward the stage dominated by a huge banner. The food was delicious and plentiful; the service attentive.
The evening moved like clock work with speeches, auctions, celebrity talks and presentations to entertain and explain and great music to allow us to finish the evening dancing. All the committee members, celebrities, volunteers and speech makers worked in perfect harmony to weave together an unforgettable night.
The parade of sporting memorabilia was fabulous, with the Guernseys and photographs beautifully framed, and the bidding continued faultlessly as nearly 30 items went under the hammer. All donated these included a limited edition Brownlow Medal book signed by all existing medallists (1of 10 only!) from the big man himself (Robert ?Dipper? Dipierdomenico), Cathy Freeman?s signed shoes and T-shirt, signed Swans, Bombers, Brisbane Lions, Ports Guernseys, cricket items including 2 with Don Bradman signatures plus a photographs of the Waugh brothers signed by them both, a swimming cap signed by Shane Gould and more! It was hard not to be overawed by the generosity of the donations and of the bidders.
The excitement was pushed to unexpected highs when Kevin Sheedy added one coach?s call to the original offer of a seat in the Essendon coach?s box at the Preliminary game to be played the next day between the Swans and the Bombers. Once all the bids were in Kevin instructed Craig Willis (MC) to also offer the underbidder a seat if he honoured his bid. Kevin?s generous offers raised over $4000 in about 15 minutes of frenzied bidding.
The competitive spirit rose in Paul Roos and within a few moments he had a new offer of dinner for 2 with Michael O?Loughlin and Jude Bolton all fully paid by the players. The adrenalin rushed and the room exploded into cheers and new bids. But there was more! Kevin Sheedy will auction over radio another seat in Round 20 in the coach?s box at Telstra Stadium. What a tremendous example from Football?s legends of the values held in the football community. On the field it is about winning and loyalty to your club but in adversity it is all about mateship and that crosses all teams to form a larger community.
The next day Simon had the honour of walking out to the centre of the oval at North Sydney to toss the coin to begin the pre-season game between the Sydney Swans and the Essendon Bombers. His dream of elite football may be gone forever but not his passion for the game or the friendship of his mates in footy.
Thank you Brett, Chris, Ryan, Dawn, John, Matthew, Michael, Jill, Simon, Peter, Ben & Stefan (the Committee) and everyone else who added their energy to a wonderful evening. The financial contributions will be used towards Simon?s continuing rehabilitation. The memories of the Simon Meyer Benefit Dinner will sustain him forever as he rebuilds his life.
Written by Denise Meyer, Simon's Mum and Full Time Carer
The euphoria from Friday 13th February will never leave our family. On this evening, 7 months after Simon?s accident, a Benefit Dinner was held attended by over 350 people. It was a glittering success in every way humanly possible and then it was more. There is that mysterious part of the human spirit that once activated turns the inanimate perfection into a sublime experience.
The venue Le Montage was gorgeous. There were white clothed tables bedecked with candelabras and black fabric chairs tied with huge white bows and all looking out toward the tranquil waters of the bay and inward toward the stage dominated by a huge banner. The food was delicious and plentiful; the service attentive.
The evening moved like clock work with speeches, auctions, celebrity talks and presentations to entertain and explain and great music to allow us to finish the evening dancing. All the committee members, celebrities, volunteers and speech makers worked in perfect harmony to weave together an unforgettable night.
The parade of sporting memorabilia was fabulous, with the Guernseys and photographs beautifully framed, and the bidding continued faultlessly as nearly 30 items went under the hammer. All donated these included a limited edition Brownlow Medal book signed by all existing medallists (1of 10 only!) from the big man himself (Robert ?Dipper? Dipierdomenico), Cathy Freeman?s signed shoes and T-shirt, signed Swans, Bombers, Brisbane Lions, Ports Guernseys, cricket items including 2 with Don Bradman signatures plus a photographs of the Waugh brothers signed by them both, a swimming cap signed by Shane Gould and more! It was hard not to be overawed by the generosity of the donations and of the bidders.
The excitement was pushed to unexpected highs when Kevin Sheedy added one coach?s call to the original offer of a seat in the Essendon coach?s box at the Preliminary game to be played the next day between the Swans and the Bombers. Once all the bids were in Kevin instructed Craig Willis (MC) to also offer the underbidder a seat if he honoured his bid. Kevin?s generous offers raised over $4000 in about 15 minutes of frenzied bidding.
The competitive spirit rose in Paul Roos and within a few moments he had a new offer of dinner for 2 with Michael O?Loughlin and Jude Bolton all fully paid by the players. The adrenalin rushed and the room exploded into cheers and new bids. But there was more! Kevin Sheedy will auction over radio another seat in Round 20 in the coach?s box at Telstra Stadium. What a tremendous example from Football?s legends of the values held in the football community. On the field it is about winning and loyalty to your club but in adversity it is all about mateship and that crosses all teams to form a larger community.
The next day Simon had the honour of walking out to the centre of the oval at North Sydney to toss the coin to begin the pre-season game between the Sydney Swans and the Essendon Bombers. His dream of elite football may be gone forever but not his passion for the game or the friendship of his mates in footy.
Thank you Brett, Chris, Ryan, Dawn, John, Matthew, Michael, Jill, Simon, Peter, Ben & Stefan (the Committee) and everyone else who added their energy to a wonderful evening. The financial contributions will be used towards Simon?s continuing rehabilitation. The memories of the Simon Meyer Benefit Dinner will sustain him forever as he rebuilds his life.
Written by Denise Meyer, Simon's Mum and Full Time Carer