OCA Year in Review

December 22, 2016

St Patrick’s College Old Collegians Association President Mr Michael Kearney has penned his year in review, recounting several major highlights for our Old Collegians.

What a busy and exciting year for the St Patrick’s College Old Collegians Association as we welcomed two new initiatives (the MENtal Business Brekky and the Unsung Heroes Dinner) which brought Old Collegians together.

During the 2016 calendar year the popular annual reunions for one, five, ten, 20, 30 and 40 year anniversaries were again well attended while the 50-Year Reunion was held in conjunction with the March 17 St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the College. At this luncheon this year Mr Gavan Tellefson (SPC 1964-67), along with some of his friends, presented a humorous address of their time at the College.

The OCA made visits to country towns of Warrnambool, Bendigo and Geelong for the annual regional dinners which were also well attended. There are always some new faces who arrive and relate new stories of their experiences at the College.

The induction of two Old Collegians as Legends during the year was another major highlight. Mr David Parer (SPC 1963-65), a distinguished national and international cinematographer and photographer, was inducted along with Mr Joe Delaney AO (SPC 1943-44), who was honoured for his many years of community work as a former president of the Mercy Hospital for Woman Board and the founding chair of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics.

The annual Facere et Docere award for outstanding contribution as a teacher was presented to Mr Howard Clark whose work, especially with the College’s football program, has been exemplary. We were also thrilled to honour young scientist Daniel Ferguson (SPC 2004-09) with a Young Achiever award, acknowledging his ground breaking work in cancer research.

A new event held in 2016 was the Unsung Heroes dinner where all footballers in the 1st XVIII SPC teams from 1955 -“ 1985 were honoured. Media personality Ian Cover conducted entertaining interviews with selected Unsung Heroes from these years. The old SPC football grandstand now bears a plaque dedicated to the Unsung Heroes. Old Collegians visiting the College should go to the grandstand to read the plaque to capture the true meaning of the Unsung Heroes spirit.

Seasonal lunches are being held and well attended at the Emerald Hotel in South Melbourne where Old Boys gather to renew friendships, swap stories and introduce new Old Boys to this very convivial gathering. We thank Noel Sheehan and Michael Dowd for their initiative and administration of this increasingly popular function.

Another recent initiative of the OCA is the Pastoral Care program which will be overseen by College staff in the Development Office. This program has already been advertised through our regular communications channels and the OCA looks forward to making a difference in the lives of Old Boys who are experiencing tough times.

50-Year Reunions for 1st XVIII SPC teams are becoming popular over the past few years. Mr Dan O’Brien (SPC 1961-66) organised a wonderful night in Port Fairy to celebrate the 1966 reunion. Around 20 Old Boys attended and it is anticipated this will be a regular reunion in the future.

So, as you can see, the OCA has been very pro-active and is currently busy with the fundraising for the new boarding precinct. The OCA looks forward to all its members supporting the appeal during 2017.

Finally, I acknowledge the continued work and contributed by our 2016 committee.

Members of 2016 Committee:

President

Mr Michael Kearney (SPC 1962-67)

Vice President

Mr Christopher Torpy (SPC 1989-94)

Secretary

Mr David McMahon (SPC 1989-94)

Treasurer

Mr James Edmends (SPC 2004-09)

Committee

Mr Rick Blanchfield (SPC 1966-71)

Mr Shane Hayes (SPC 1989-94)

Mr Andrew McManus (SPC 1982-87)

Mr Ashley Simpson (SPC 2007-12)

Mr Benjamin Martin (SPC 2009-14)

Mr Allan McKinnon (SPC 1966-69)

Mr Ashley Sims (SPC 1989-94)

Mr Paul Ballinger (SPC 1977-83)

Executive Officer

Mr Paul Nolan (SPC 1991-93)

Ex-officio member

Mr Dennis Foley (SPC 1967-72)