At St Columba’s Secondary Sports Awards, local sportsman Tony Wright was presented with a cheque for $2000 from fundraising efforts by the School’s Interact Club.
Interact Club is a school-based service organisation mentored by Sunrise Rotary and its representative, Mrs Jan Crombie. It has been operating at the school for a number of years and is the only club of its type in the local area.
Each year the Interact Club, comprised of students from Years 9 to 12, hold fundraising events or volunteer to raise money for worthwhile local, national and international charities. The club decides which charities it will support at the start of each year.
This year club members were keen to raise funds to support the recovery of Tony Wright.
Tony is well known to the Port Macquarie community through his lifesaving and Ironman involvement, and school bus driving.
He was critically injured on March 4 this year while preparing for the Ironman triathlon when he was knocked from his bike during a routine training ride on Ocean Drive, just north of Lake Cathie.
After four weeks in the Intensive Care Unit and six weeks in the trauma ward he was moved to Rankin Park Rehabilitation Centre before recently returning to Port Macquarie Private Hospital’s Rehabilitation unit to continue his recovery.
Tony has astounded his doctor’s with his efforts during the recuperation and rehabilitation phases. His progress has been beyond all expectations as shown by Tony walking into the Iona Sports Stadium for this occasion.
In Term 2, over 50 students, both Interact Club members and from the wider school community, volunteered for the annual Port Macquarie Ironman. They manned the main bike-run transition station at Westport Park, ensuring the athletes experienced a smooth transition between race legs. For their day long efforts they received $2000 from Ironman organisers and it is this money which was presented to Tony at this event.