The beautiful vines of the Vasse Felix estate provided a stunning backdrop as 160 MRBTA Members and Staff gathered together for the last time for 2020.
Proceeds from tickets sales were donated to Days for Girls Australia to support them in their work increasing access to menstrual care and education for girls in Timor Leste. Kerry Watson spoke about how their group sew the reusable menstrual packs which are taken to Timor Leste by local students on exchange in the region, and which are distributed by a menstrual care educator. Kerry explained how this donation is an important contribution for them to continue their work that helps keep girls in school.
Eagle Bay Brewing Co sponsored the beer enjoyed on the evening and Margarita Wallace updated us that it is ‘business as usual’ at EBBCo. While reservations are still recommended, the team are still able to provide a great service to guests who show up without a booking. EBBCo are celebrating their tenth birthday in December and have reached the enormous milestone of brewing 1 million litres of their popular Kolsch beer. Congratulations to the EBBCo team on all you have achieved over this past decade and happy birthday!
Georgina Beniston from Vasse Felix provided an update on their dedicated new Blanc de Blanc house, Idee Fixe, and the work they have been doing to achieve organic certification.
Margaret River Wine Association CEO Amanda Whiteland provided a truly heartwarming moment when she spoke so poignantly about the meaningful support and collaboration between their members and partner organisations throughout the year beginning with the Bushfire fundraiser and through the COVID crisis. Looking forward, the MRWA is doing a lot of work assisting their members with trade funding and have some exciting news with a Wine School beginning in the near future. Stay tuned!
We were also very pleased to have in attendance Ian Earl, President of the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and Grant Henley, Mayor of City of Busselton. Their speeches to the crowd were also very moving in talking about the importance of supporting our communities in these turbulent times and how proud they are of the support they have worked to provide to their constituents. Both recognised the importance of tourism in the sustainability of our region, how COVID has served to highlight this and how it is important we continue to work together to ensure the region’s prosperity in future.
Sharna Kearney, MRBTA Co-CEO wrapped up the formalities of the evening with an optimistic update on the Jetstar Melbourne-Busselton Flights and associated interstate marketing work.
To round out what was a really beautiful evening, the crowd was serenaded with the soulful sounds of musician Katie White.
Thank you to all that attended and a huge thank you to the event’s sponsors:
Vasse Felix and Eagle Bay Brewing Co.
We look forward to seeing you in 2021.
