Bear Cottage Through The Years

Humble Beginnings - 2002

The first A Bear Affair gala dinner was held on Friday October 11th. It came about through the vision and dedication of a small group of volunteers and staff. In its first year A Bear Affair involved 150 donors and 200 guests. It was held at the International College of Management Sydney and raised $25 000.

Special thanks to Jo and Tracy who were involved in this initial vision and to Sheena who gave us our name and the Bear Cave and has remained a great consultant over the years.

Moving Right Along - 2003

In 2003 the gala dinner was held again at the magnificent International College of Management Sydney on Friday August 1stt. In honor of the horses birthday there was a racing theme. This second dinner again had around 200 guests with 150 donors involved but this year raised $50 000.

Special thanks to Emilie who came on board this year and was instrumental in bringing the event together.

Changes In The Air - 2005

In 2004 a committee was recruited to assist with the growing workload and to ensure we had the best skill base possible. The decision was made to move the dinner to a Saturday night earlier in the year.

CURIOUS Design New Zealand came on board and refreshed the look of the event with our little bear and logo which have remained with the event over the ensuing years.

The dinner was held on Saturday March 12th and with the assistance of the International College of Management we were able to avail the services of Alana Tran (Trans) and Christine Manfield as celebrity chefs for the evening.

There were 220 guests at this event which raised $100 000.

Thanks to two of the foundation committee members John Humphrey and David Rolls.

A New Air - 2006

By 2006 the demand for tickets was growing and A Bear Affair made the move to the Manly Pacific (managed by Novotel). The event was a special night being one of a series of events to mark the 5th birthday of Bear Cottage.

This year the event was humbled to hear about the value of Bear Cottage first hand from two Bear Cottage parentŐs, Laura and Bruce. It had 300 guests and over 300 donors and raised a staggering $150 000. This goal was achieved through the introduction of event sponsor. This years key sponsors were Citigroup and XSI.

An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to Pamela Goldsmith a founder of this event who gave her heart and soul to bringing this event to this place as well as her wonderful husband Max Goldsmith who was a constant support and a founding committee member.

The Sky's The Limit - 2007

With a solid committee in place and growing the 2007 event was held on Bear CottageŐs sixth anniversary, 17th March 2007. This was again achieved in part through the generosity of our event sponsors Citigroup, Austbrokers RWA Group. Entertainment this year was provided by the incredible Diamond Dogs.

This years event also had the incredible support of St George Bank through the supply of their fabulous Silent Auction Software and Logistics System.

Thanks to Denise Ellis Kelly and Mark Kelly and Steve Thomas for their involvement in making A Bear Affair the success it is today.

Long Term Supporters

A huge thanks goes to:

Lochie Daddo who has become part of A Bear Affair culture by being a fabulous host for all five A Bear Affair gala events.

Katrina Douglas who created our first two video productions and Rob Goodyear who has put his heart and soul into the production of three incredible video presentations

The Future

The current committee includes Matt and Jo Mc Ewan (Dynamic Brands, Leigh Haroldson (Lendlease), Janet Burke, Helen Carroll and Robin Dougherty (Bear Cottage), Kim Prodinger, Denae Griffith and Michelle Jones (Bear Cottage Volunteers)

The 2008 event will be held at the Manly Pacific on Saturday 29th March.

It is hoped that our next gala affair dinner will raise $200 000.