{"id":207868,"date":"2018-05-03T22:29:26","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T12:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=207868"},"modified":"2020-08-04T12:29:21","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T02:29:21","slug":"relay-for-life-launched-with-laughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/05\/03\/relay-for-life-launched-with-laughs\/","title":{"rendered":"Relay For Life Launched With Laughs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Relay for Life president Rowena Dionysius, 2018 Face of Relay Sue Cox and 2017 Face of Relay John Bjelke-Petersen at the Mayor’s Breakfast in Wondai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Guest speaker William McInnes was presented with a hamper of South Burnett goodies by Mayor Keith Campbell; William also went home with a special purple Relay For Life cricket ball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 4, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s toss up what the highlight of Thursday morning’s Mayor’s Breakfast was … an hilarious description about emu mating or the exciting news that rugby great Mark Ella will be coming to the South Burnett.<\/p>\n

The fifth annual Mayor’s Breakfast, which was held at the Wondai RSL Club, hosted the launch of the yearly South Burnett Relay For Life, a fundraising campaign for the Cancer Council of Queensland.<\/p>\n

Guest speaker William McInnes regaled the almost 90 diners with a string of amusing anecdotes, including an R-rated tale particularly appropriate for a town which hosts an emu statue (see YouTube video, below).<\/p>\n

The well-known actor is also the author of 10 books,\u00a0including “Worse Things Happen At Sea”, co-written with his late wife Sarah, which won the 2012 Indie Non-Fiction Book of the Year award.<\/p>\n

Sarah \u2013 an award-winning film director in her right \u2013 died from breast cancer in 2011 which made William a particularly appropriate guest for the 2018 Relay For Life launch.<\/p>\n

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2017 Face of Relay John Bjelke-Petersen sashed the 2018 “Face”, Nanango nurse Sue Cox, at the breakfast.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sue is currently the acting McGrath Foundation Breast Care Nurse for the South Burnett, following the farewell of long-serving nurse\u00a0Roslyn Melmeth in March.<\/p>\n

Sue is also a cancer survivor. She was treated for lymphoma in 1977 and has survived two bouts with breast cancer, the latest in 2010.<\/p>\n

She said that being a cancer survivor helped when she was talking to people who had been recently diagnosed.<\/p>\n

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Mark Ella has been described as Australia’s greatest rugby union player (Photo: Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another highlight of the Mayor’s Breakfast was the announcement by Relay For Life patron Carl Rackemann about the three special guests for this year’s Captains’ Dinner – a major fundraiser for the South Burnett Relay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The three guests are:<\/strong><\/p>\n