Few tickets remain for Annual Celebration Dinner

Just a small handful of tickets remain available for sale for the 2021 Old Collegians Association Annual Celebration Dinner.

Already, more than 170 tickets for the event on Saturday, August 7 have been sold.

St Patrick’s College is excited to reveal the identities of the four men who will be honoured with prestigious awards at the Annual Celebration Dinner later this year.

After being forced to cancel last year’s dinner due to COVID, we are thrilled to once again celebrate the successes of four men who have excelled in their chosen fields.

Two new College Legends will be inducted in 2021, along with one new Young Achiever and a former much-loved staff member will be honoured with the Facere et Docere (To Do and To Teach Award).

All four will be celebrated at the dinner on Saturday, August 7 in the Old Collegians Pavilion.

The inductees are:

Legend of the College:  Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson (SPC 1970-73) will be inducted as a Legend of St Patrick’s College. For nearly 29 years Detective Sergeant Carson has investigated sexual offences committed against children that included a number of high-profile cases in the Ballarat area. He has worked tirelessly with victims and families to provide ongoing support and assistance. Detective Sergeant Carson has provided a dedicated service to Victoria Police, and to the community for over 46 years. Kevin has also been an incredibly notable figure in Ballarat sporting circles, particularly through his involvement as a football umpire.

Legend of the College: Michael Kearney (SPC 1962-67) will be inducted as a Legend of the College in recognition of his outstanding and unparalleled volunteer service to the St Patrick’s College community over five decades. Michael is the only person on record to have been both president of the OCA Committee and Chairman of the SPC Foundation. Through various decades he has also held all senior executive positions of the OCA – president, secretary and treasurer. Amazingly he was secretary of the OCA in 1976, some 45 years ago, and only stepped down from the committee last year. He has also been involved in the SPC Foundation for more than 30 years.

Young Achiever of the Year: Andrew Groch (SPC 2008-13) will be recognised as our Young Achiever of the Year in honour of his incredible work as one of Australia’s best young musical conductors and arts administrators. Despite being just 25 years old Andrew has already conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and has worked with the world-renowned London Philharmonia Orchestra before COVID forced a return to Australia. Andrew is currently working as a project officer with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Facere et Docere Award: Former Director of Boarding and Director of Community Development Mr Mark Waddington will be honoured with the staff award in recognition of his incredible achievements at the College between 2002 and 2011. In that time Mark helped rebuild the boarding community after it teetered on the brink of closure, oversaw major capital fundraising programs for projects such as the OCA Pavilion and the Jo Walter Field, managed the reintroduction of scholarship and bequest programs at the College and helped drive enrolment numbers to record levels. Mark was also instrumental in the rejuvenation of the College’s vaunted football program and ushered in a bright new era for the Old Collegians Association with a renewed focus on engagement and joy.

A gala function will be held on Saturday, August 7 to honour these fine gentlemen and only a limited number of tickets are available.

Tickets are just $50 per person and are now open for sale. Limited tickets remain. This event will sell out so if you are hoping to attend you must purchase your tickets early.

Tickets are available at this link: https://www.trybooking.com/BPYMY

 

A full list of previous inductees at celebration dinners follows:

College Legends

2002: Danny Frawley, Steve Moneghetti, Gavin Brown, George Hamm, Michael Glenane, Anthony Edwards, Fr Gerard Dowling, Brian Gleeson, Bill Bell, Geoffrey Torney

2003: Steve Bracks, Tony Joyce, John Fitzgerald, Murray Byrne, Jan Murrihy, Christian Ryan, Peter Walsh

2004: Paul Bongiorno, John James, David Bourke, Mario Bortolotto, John Larkins

2005: Raimond Gaita, Brian Brown

2006: Noel Flanagan, Barry Richardson, McDonalds of Waubra
2007: Mark Nolan, Tony Benson, John McArthur
2008: Graham Duff, Kevin Renwick, Chris O’Brien

2009: Frank Dimattina, Col. Mark Elliott, Fr Peter Hudson, Lee Iafrate, James Marburg, Jamie McKew, Drew Petrie

2010: The Bourkes of Pakenham, Shane McInerney, Prof John Molony, Dr John Stekelenburg, Tony Sullivan, Clinton Young

2011: Nathan Brown, Peter Buckle, Colin McDonald QC

2012: Fr Brendan Davey, Bryan Thomas, Peter Walsh, Patrick Payne.

2013: Dennis Foley, Gerard FitzGerald

2014: Peter Wilson, Ted Long, John Mooney, David Gallagher, John Devine.

2015: Major Joe Fogarty, Laurie Larmer, Sgt Blaine Diddams, Col. Shaun Hoffmann

2016: Joe Delaney, David Parer

2017: Chris Nolan

2019: George Treloar, Michael Flynn, Peter Blenkiron.

 

Young Achievers

2014: Joshua Hyde

2016: Daniel Ferguson

2017: Jake Laidlaw

2017: Callum Linane

2018: Matthew Short, Daniel Butler, Shaun Grigg, Daniel Rioli

2019: Liam Duggan

 

Facere et Docere recipients

2010: Br Brian Davis, Peter Farley, Frank Rice

2011: Terry Blizzard

2012: John Cosgriff

2013: Michael Brady

2014: Br Bill Wilding

2015: Br Kevin Tuck, Brian Broadribb

2016: Howard Clark

2017: Clare Kavanagh, Margaret McIntyre

2019: Kerrie Britt, Glenn Fisher