Casual Dress Raises A Casual 800

As part of the ongoing fund raising activities fellow Manager within TSG at Computershare, Patrick Drew suggested that we have 2 weeks of casual dress with the premise being that staff donate $5 each.

It was a great idea that saw almost everyone donate and achieve an amazing total of $827.60 taking the overall total donated to now well above $4000.

I can't thank the TSG staff who have supported the Long Ride so far enough, and especially Pat for driving this initiative.

While this has been going on there has been some great corporate support as well as many local councils and associated businesses showing an interest.  Much of this support will actually dictate my journey home as I stop in every town that has helped me to make sure a I say thank you.

Golfers Hit In Right Direction

For the second year running the Meredith Golf Club, between Geelong and Ballarat has come up with a great way to raise funds for the Long Ride.

The small club in country Victoria attracted nearly 40 golfers who all took part in a day long tournament to win prizes not normally seen in a golfing tournament.

With prizes up for grabs for both handicapped and non-handicapped players it proved to be a great day that raised $1297.85 which will all got to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through the Long Ride.

Organisers of the event worked tirelessly to ensure that there were plenty of prizes for the tournament and also a raffle that catered mostly for golfers.  A huge thankyou must not only go to the golfers who travelled to Meredith to play but also the many companies that threw their support behind the vent, these were -
   Barwon Heads Resort
   13th Beach Golf Course
   Tutt Bryant Hire
   Mercure Geelong
   Portarlington Golf Course
   The House of Golf (Geelong)
   Crown Casino
   as well as the many other people who supported the day.  Without this sort of support we couldn't make days like this such a huge success for the PCFA and the Long Ride.

CityLink ... the missing link.

Hmmm ... it’s interesting that CityLink say they will refund motorists for the debacle that occurred today when both the Domain and Burnley tunnels were closed due to a computer glitch.

This is fine if you have an eTag or day pass (you have to chase this yourself) but what about the many more motorists that don’t usually use CityLink and yet were still affected by the many traffic jams around Melbourne that were a flow on from the closures?

I had staff who were over 3 hours late to work, and as some of the work is time critical we were affected greatly by this.  I myself sat in the car for two hours before having had enough I turned around and went home, frustrated by this at least I was able to jump on the bike and make my way through the traffic somewhat, still to turn up to work many hours passed the time I would’ve liked to start at.

Simply refunding motorist who use CityLink is not good enough how about refunding the wasted fuel or work hours that everyone else has had to endure?  It’s ridiculous that a city can close down because of one set of tunnels.  CityLink should be forced to allow free travel or somehow compensate motorists and businesses affected by this morning’s debacle.

Wide Bay - Community Banking Helping The Community

Wide Bay Australia Ltd is Queensland’s largest and Australia’s fourth largest building society.

With a philosophy of helping ordinary Australian's achieve their dream of home ownership Wide Bay is also very strong on helping the local community with many initiatives.  Wide Bay's head office is located in Bundaberg, 380km north of Brisbane and is one of the many stops on the Long Ride return leg.

With this in mind it seemed fitting that Wide Bay has supported my Long Ride with a donation made through the ride to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

It's this local support that is seeing Wide Bay quickly become recognised as a well respected and trusted financial institution.  I can't thank Wide Bay enough for their support, it's this kind of support that makes the Long Ride such a success.

More information about Wide Bay and the many services they offer please visit www.widebayaust.com.au

Increased Survival with Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer after Chemotherapy

More good news for men with castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer who have failed chemotherapy. Two new therapies have recently been approved for use in Australia, cabazitaxel (Jevtana) and abiraterone (Zytiga). Cabazitaxel was listed on PBS from 1st August 2012.

Yesterday, in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results of the phase 3 trial into the effectiveness of enzalutamide (formerly known as MDV3100) were published. Enzalutamide targets multiple steps in the androgen receptor signaling pathway, the major driver of prostate cancer growth. It is taken orally, once-daily.

Enzalutamide significantly prolonged survival of men with castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer after chemotherapy with a median increase in overall survival from 13.6 months to 18.4 months.

Clinical trials of enzalutamide in earlier stage prostate cancer are on-going.

For more information please visit www.prostate.org.au

TMC Come Up With The Right Solution

There's little doubt that the Long Ride would be a success without the help of many people and organisations, one such is The Macintosh Corporation (TMC), who for the second time have shown great support both morally and financially.

Founded in 1992, TMC started providing staff who were Macintosh specialists, this has grown to provide staffing solutions across PC and Macintosh platforms for an extremely diverse array of businesses.

With a committment to providing the highest level of staffing solutions there was little wonder that TMC wanted to get involved in a national event that would demonstrate their committment to the community and it's needs.

It goes without saying that the financial contribution from TMC is a massive help with the fundraising however, it is the moral support that drives me on to make sure that this is a huge success.

"I am truly impressed by your efforts," expressed Annette Briffa, Managing Director of TMC.

"It is an incredibly necessary cause! Good luck and congratulations on the physical participation.  Handing over the money seems so much easier."

With this sort of support it makes the thought of a 10,000 kilometre ride through all of the conditions that Australia can throw up seem so much easier.

If you have a staffing requirement that needs a solution contact the team at TMC they will certainly be able to give you what you need.  Phone them on (03) 9529 4811 or email office@tmcagency.com.au

Black Dog Wrap Up

The 2012 Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre was an incredible event, receiving unprecedented traditional and social media coverage, heart-warming support throughout every community in which we travelled, and of course a massive presence by riders around the nation. Around 500 riders took part, and over 200 rode all the way the Red Centre. To date more than $252,000 has been raised for the Black Dog Institute and the awareness raised of depression and suicide prevention is both incalculable and invaluable.

 

Plans for the 2013 Black Dog Ride are already underway check out www.blackdogride.com.au for more details.