Controversies, announcements and emotion at Annual Cricket Dinner Fundraiser

Thommo was still bowling a few bouncers, radio’s voice of cricket, the legendary Jim Maxwell was his usual insightful self, and most commentators’ favourite Sri Lankan cricketer, Russel Arnold had no shortage of views on today’s cricket controversies.

These three cricketing luminaries enlivened proceedings as speakers and panelists at the Raw Potential Canberra Annual Cricket Dinner fund-raising event.   The dinner was held in the function room at Canberra Casino with around 150 guests in attendance and on the eve of Canberra’s historic first-ever Test Match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval.

It was Jeff Thomson ironically opening the batting during the panel session expertly hosted by local favourite and Raw Potential Canberra friend, Tim Gavel.   Thommo didn’t let the audience down as he rolled the dice in the Casino’s function room with a few swipes at the system as a result of some of the turmoil in Australian cricket over the past 12 months.   Both Jim Maxwell and Russel Arnold (how about missing out on one of those exotic Sri Lankan names) also weighed in on some of the controversies making for some interesting listening.

One of the highlights of the evening was a fantastic presentation by Raw Potential Canberra’s outreach worker, Nicolle Applewhite.  Nicolle visibly moved the audience with her recollections of a street encounter with a young person she befriended a couple of years ago.

Addressing the gathering, Raw Potential Canberra Chair, Paul Kane announced the name change to Raw Potential Canberra from the former YouthCARE Canberra.   In addition to that significant announcement, Paul also was delighted to advise of some additional major fund-raising initiatives that are coming up for Raw Potential Canberra over the next month.

The end result of the evening, with the support of a generous audience with lots of help from the great team at Synergy, saw many thousands of dollars raised to support the critical work of the Raw Potential outreach workers.  Successful businessman and auctioneer, Richard Luton kindly stepped up to the crease and was wonderful in helping the night along.

It’s a big thank-you to our fantastic long-term event partner, the Harry and Helen Notaras Foundation.  They have been alongside of our organization for many years for which we are most grateful.  Additionally, Raw Potential Canberra’s major corporate partner, Synergy, was once again to the fore with their support along with many other terrific event partners and donors.