Credit where credit is due.

This site has been a long time coming, I should have had it launched at least a year ago. Without the work and support of some terrific people in my life it is active now and open for business (so to speak). Now Ihave no excuses for putting off the changes an y longe

Two years ago I had breakfast with James Tuckerman, Publhser and editor-in-chief at Australian Anthill magazine, I had met James a number of years prior through business network. At the end of the business part of our meeting he asked if I had any ideas running around in my head. James thank you so much for asking the question, if you hadn’t it would still be a little thought in the back of my head.

James got excited about the idea and introduced me to Denis Moriarty Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Our Community, more about them in a moment.

James got me excited about the possibilities and when I got back in the car I rang two business contacts who had become friends and they were keen to help out with design and technical issues.

Paul Bishop runs a company called Inbox Marketing. I have known Paul for 8+ years, having done business together and then being reconnected by a mutual contact. Paul has been a great support about how to make this happen efficiently.

Kris Kyle and I met through a small agency I worked with some years ago. Kris was a supplier and does great interactive work and was a constant source of sanity in insane times and the reverse. Kris is responsible for the logo design and the layout that will be implemented (or has been dependent upon when you’re reading this)

Denis Moriarty Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Our Community and his team including Simon Herd have made the donations page and upcoming sponsorship functionality happen. Importantly through their support only 1.5% of the donated funds gets taken by the banks and credit card companies in fees.

The one thing you can guarantee from me, I will take a small idea and make it so big that it becomes complex and time consuming to execute. I got carried away with all sorts of extensions of this idea and started doing business plans and plotting world domination, but a dinner and chat with an old and valued friend put me back on track.

Many thanks to Anthony Bertini of Thumper One for his sane guidance, friendship and incredible generosity. I first met Anthony in the ad industry in the eighties, me in an agency and he a senior exec with ACP magazines. In the ensuing years we worked together at BMCMedia which he and another business associate and friend founded in 1998.

A new connection has helped me enormously to gain insight and perspective into my own world and what some of my behavioural and attitudinal drivers are. Whoa, what a wake up call some of those have been. Jan Beames has been a fantastic confidante and mentor both professionally and personally. She keeps pushing me to make this happen and face up to self imposed hurdles. Thank you Jan for your continuing care and intellect.

Amazingly this idea has been floating around for a number of years, but has now taken a full 12 months from planning to establishment. A lot of that has to do with my own desires to make it perfect before I launch it – it’s not and I am dealing with and accepting that. I got to the point of being totally frustrated and lost in how to take the last few steps until I dropped an email to a friend asking for advice. Not only did I get advice, I also found the path to completion.

Heath Rudduck is one of h most inspiring men I have known in my life. He is one of those people who can get things done, from building this incredible shed (I held up the frame one day – not for the day) to being an innovative and creative force in the digital marketing industry.

I am blessed to have Heath and his family Bec, Indigo and Saxon as true friends with a connection that I value incredibly and rarely get a chance to say so .. so there, said. Now living in Boston, USA, my son and I miss them greatly

Thanks Heath!

My brother Paul, now it would be easy to pay out on him in a brotherly way .. later. But here is a father of three kids that has got a great life work balance and really looks after himself. He’s now gone Triathlon mad after competing in a couple of marathons. His level of fitness is inspiring, and his interest in my issues and health have been a godsend – thanks matey!

Paul introduced me to Vanessa Bai, a personal trainer at Fitness First in East Brighton. Vanessa understood clearly where I was at and cared enough to structure a program around my current physical limitations. Thanks Ness.

I am sure I have forgotten many people who are coming onside and inspiring me in different ways or who have been there through the really dark times never shirking the underlying friendship.

Amongst them the guys from my band How Now – Luke Jolly, Peter Paolini and Karl Schenk. Nicola Cannon who along with Luke has been incredibly generous in many ways, but most importantly towards my son and I can never thank you enough for that.

Jan Cameron – let’s go deep water running!