transcript: OPENING CEREMONY CANCER COUNCIL AUSTRALIA RELAY FOR LIFE, 21 AUGUST 2024

STARTS: 12:15pm
ENDS: 12:24pm

E&OE

MICHAEL McCORMACK:

Thanks Leigh (Ryan, Triple M Riverina 1152) we are all friends, we are a community – we are Wagga Wagga. This is what this generous community does, this is the spirit of a great city. Each year in Australia 160,000 people are diagnosed with cancer, to put that into some sort of perspective, each day more than twice the population of Collingullie hear the awful news, the awful truth.

But there is hope and there are people there to support you.

There are those recovery times, there are recovery ideals and events such as this – 21 years strong, Relay for Life here in Wagga Wagga that does so much.

Not just to raise money but to raise awareness of where you can go to get help and where you can go to get better. There is hope amongst every one of you today.

Thank you for coming out today. Each and every one of us has been touched in some way, shape or form by the insidious disease or a derivation thereof.

But we are here, we are strong, we are together as Alan Pottie has just eloquently said it is about comraderie, it is about being together.

Thank you to Dallas Tout for being on the committee and thank you to each and every one of those yellow-shirt warriors for each and everything you do for our city and for each other.

I will also just give one big shout-out to Josh McKellar and Kapooka Band, put your hands together.

We think it’s Wagga’s band it is actually not it is the Army’s band, and they are there for the March-out first and foremost, but Josh and his team do such a great, great job and we should thank them every time we see them.

Because they bring colour, life, music and vibrance to events such as this. Have a great relay, and enjoy each other’s company.

Together we will fight and we will beat this dreadful scourge of cancer.