The 2019 Marcus Oldham Foundation Cocktail party was another wonderful evening, held for the second year in a row in Melbourne at the magnificent Metropolis on Southbank.
With more than 300 guests in attendance, it was a cross section of the College community which included graduates from all six decades, sponsors, Foundation members, Council and Foundation executive members, lecturing staff, student scholarship recipients, current parents and many corporate and personal friends of the College.
Chief Executive Officer of the AFL, Mr Gillon McLachlan was this year’s guest speaker and he did not disappoint. Gillon’s address provided a rare insight into his abilities as a leader and young visionary, with many of the management techniques applied to the AFL and their community strategy, transportable advice that could be applied to a multitude of other industries. Gillon was generous with his time and opened-up the floor to an enthusiastic audience who asked a smorgasbord of uncensored questions.
As impressive as Gillon was, two other standouts on the night were final year Farm Management students, Kaleb Gerschwitz from Maitland in South Australian and Student President, Margo Sullivan from Mataranka in the Northern Territory. Kaleb did a superb job as the evening’s MC, whilst Margo shared with our audience a raw account of her pursuit to study at Marcus Oldham.
Foundation Chairman, Mr Antony Baillieu, reminded guests of the purpose of the Foundation and shared an updated animation on the Learning Centre Project including a reality time lapse from construction site to the structure as it stands so far.
The Learning Centre is set to be completed in time for the 2020 year and the College Foundation is delighted to report that $6.7 million has now been raised through donation and pledge. With a $3.3million shortfall, Mr Baillieu provided guests with an open invitation to come and visit the College and see the enormity of this project for themselves.
The College Foundation is committed to raising a further $3.3 million required to complete the Learning Centre. For further details on how you might be able to support this project, please contact the Foundation via email at foundation@marcusoldham.vic.edu.au.
