It may have been cold outside, but the atmosphere was warm and the cooked breakfasts were hot at the MLMC Old Collegians' Association's annual Business Breakfast on Tuesday 7 May. More than 60 guests connected with each other in McAuley Hall as they listened to two engaging guest speakers, Old Collegians Anna Baird and John Kehoe. Guests enjoyed a delicious breakfast cooked by the College’s talented Senior VCAL students of muffins and croissants, and a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, spinach, hash browns, mushrooms and tomatoes, and great coffee made by our young baristas.
Anna Baird (Class of 1995) is the owner and director of Bared Footwear, a well-established footwear business employing 75 people which she has built from a single store in Toorak Village. Anna told those gathered about the many obstacles she has had to overcome to turn her passion for good shoes into a successful business, using her knowledge as a practising podiatrist. She offered business advice, including “stay positive”, “have great people in your team” and “look after your customers” but also that “learning to turn a setback into a success is the key to your business”.
John Kehoe (Class of 2000) was joined by his mother Marianne at the breakfast and told of his journey from MLMC to a degree in Economics and Politics at Monash University. He also spent two years working at the Federal Treasury in Canberra before joining the Australian Financial Review newspaper. He pursued his journalism dream while volunteering as a radio broadcaster, starting out by covering local footy in the Yarra Valley. He spent nearly five years covering US politics for the newspaper, including Donald Trump’s rise through the Republican primaries to become President by defeating Hilary Clinton. He is now “knee-deep” in this weekend’s Federal Election as a senior reporter for the Financial Review. “Whoever wins will be taking on the economy at a really important time,” he said.
Guests were also entertained by fellow Old Collegian Savanna Fanfulla (Class of 2014), who sang a humorous song Can we ring the bell? about the life of a school teacher.
Congratulations to everyone involved in hosting this important event and thank you to those in the community who came along.
VCAL students involved in the Business Breakfast were:
Head chef: Eddy Bourke
Front of House staff: Tanisha Anderson, Natalee Marchese, Emmy Croney, Kayla Tucker, Lily Hourn, Torrey Kelly
Baristas: Jade Commerford, Josh Graham, Chloe Baulch, Christelle Cartledge, Caitlyn Law
Floral decorations: Rosalie De Francesco
