Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club in Gateway Island | Community organisation

Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club

Locality: Gateway Island

Address: 138 Lemke Rd 3691 Gateway Island, VIC, Australia

Website: https://www.dragonboatalbury.com.au/

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25.01.2022 It is with so much sadness and very heavy hearts we announce that our beautiful Brave Heart, Brenda Konecnik, passed away peacefully this morning, surrounded by her family. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Brenda's family: Andrew, Stephen, Nikki, Josh, Leonie and Merv on the loss of your beautiful wife, mother and sister. Brenda joined our Dragon Boat family in 2015 after she started her cancer treatment, as she was determined to keep up her fitness. She was... always so positive, loved life, was courageous, inspirational and was determined not to be beaten by her illness. During her time at Brave Hearts she was involved in everything... always lending a hand around the club with working bees, fundraising, leisure cruise and gave 100% of herself wholeheartedly. She loved to paddle, to train and race; always put her hand up to join Peninsular Dragonflys and Gippsland Warratahs in the cancer survivors races; and when paddling became too much she loved to sit on the drum and encourage her team mates. Her beautiful, friendly smile was so welcoming to our new paddlers and she made everyone feel comfortable. She was the epitome of all that our club holds dear with her smiling face and her "I'm okay" attitude. We will forever hold her close to our hearts and carry her mantra with us throughout our lives - "Believe to Achieve". Brenda sent one of our members this message a little while ago which we will share with you now: "I don't know where I would be if I didn't have Brave Hearts. I never believed in anything until it was the only option I had left. Now I'm hanging on with all my might. Everytime I see your beautiful faces I feel like I can do this. I love you all." She loved us and our club with all of her heart...and our love for her kept her going and gave her hope. Please take comfort in knowing that. She was a very special lady who we are all going to miss, but we are all better for knowing her. She brought so much light and joy to us all. Rest in Peace now beautiful lady. Forever with us on and off the water...forever in our hearts. Fly High Brave Heartwe love and will miss you always xxx

23.01.2022 Last week we said goodbye to our beautiful friend Brenda. The Border restrictions made it difficult for us to all be together but our Victorian members were there in thought and spirit.

21.01.2022 This morning some of the 'north of the river spiders' ventured out for coffee at the River Deck Cafe. If some other 'northies' would like to join us next saturday at 9.30am, please come on down!!

17.01.2022 We will be walking again on Saturday morning... 8.30 at Riverdeck cafe for walking 9.30 for those who would like to catch up and have a cuppa

13.01.2022 Di's family have been overwhelmed with love and support and beautiful flowers in the Laundess home. Such beautiful gestures of kindness and just shows how many ...people's lives Di has impacted. In lieu of flowers Di's family have set up a fundraiser if you would like to contribute towards Di's Funeral.

11.01.2022 SAVE THE DATE - 21 MARCH 2021 Brave Hearts 12th Community Regatta is now scheduled for Sunday 21 March 2021... This event will be on the western side of Gateway Lakes, Wodonga, Vic. Teams that were ready to compete in 2020 and didn't get the chance will be contacted and we'll also be encouraging new teams to register. More information will be coming soon at our Brave Hearts DBC Community Regatta Facebook www.facebook.com/braveheartscommunityregatta/

11.01.2022 A blast from the past! Falls Creek 2012

10.01.2022 The Sunshine Walk going virtual won’t stop our team from raising much needed funds locally & supporting this worthwhile event. Our Team Captain Janine McGrath ...will be announcing some very special challenges that our members & supporters can jump on board with to help us raise some funds. Watch this space....in the meantime please JOIN our team or DONATE today. https://give.awcancertrust.org.au//bravehea/sunshine-walk

09.01.2022 Massive congratulations to everyone who took part in today’s Sunshine Walk. We had 3 groups guided by our Brave Heart Angels walking 5km, 10km & 20km. So prou...d of our little group & what we have managed to achieve. We have raised $5,360 well & truly surpassing our final goal of $4,000. Thank you to everyone that has donated & supported us & also a huge thank you to the organisers of this event a fantastic effort with rumours the total raised being in excess of $150,000. Remembering every cent raised stays local so we are so proud to support this worthy cause. Donations are still being received & I will post our page link in the comments. Rest up & stay strong Brave Hearts #proudtobeaBraveHeart Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust Fund Inc

09.01.2022 It is with a broken heart that we say goodbye to our much loved Brave Heart Di Laundess, who died last Sunday. Di has been a much-loved member of Brave Hearts... since its inception and has been a Brave Heart herself in every sense of the word, since day one. We had the privilege of first meeting this gentle compassionate lady when she joined the support group, Young Hearts; as a remarkable cancer survivor. She then became an exquisite pin up star in our Brave Hearts Calendar, as that unforgettable beautiful Harley rider. She then went on to be our much loved boat builder and skilled paddler and was able to prove how exercise post lymphoedema was so beneficial, a condition which can be so debilitating, which Di quietly endured since her diagnosis. Di has been a great advocate for our cause and took any opportunity to create public awareness for what we stood for, publically speaking on many occasions and also allowing the media to tell her story, in order to Instil positivity and hope to other cancer survivors. Di always took the initiative to speak and nurture people newly diagnosed with cancer and her ability to convey strength and genuine empathy to these people, was so appreciated and loved. Di has been a willing face of all of our projects including the construction of our Celebrations Rose Garden, our Pamper Days, our fundraisers, and an enthusiastic participant and organiser of our community link projects such as Field of Women, North Albury Football and Netball Pink Days, Mother’s Day Classic just to mention a few. Di has been the much appreciated and dearly loved Coordinator of our unique Wig Library since 2015 and was still helping to organise rosters and ordering wigs when she was experiencing debilitating symptoms of her advancing disease. We can’t remember not having Di as part of our many committees and can remember at one point she was taking minutes for both the Dragon Boat Club and Brave Hearts on the Murray. Di was such an invaluable Secretary for Brave Hearts on the Murray Inc since 2009 until her recent retirement, her skills were exceptional. We have been so blessed to have Di as a Brave Heart. She has constantly taught us how to overcome diversity and to live life to the fullest. She has been aptly described as an exquisite dazzling diamond with the kindness and warmest of hearts, the most radiant smile and divine red nails. We have also been so fortunate that her special husband Bob has been a vital part of all our projects as well and the inseparable pair have been such an integral part of our Brave Hearts family along with their beautiful daughters. Both Di and Bob were awarded with our prestigious silver heart award for their outstanding contribution and commitment to our organisation. We know Di's legacy will always live on in the hearts of her strong and loving family. Soar high Di to eternal peace and thank you for being our leading light and imprinting so many wonderful memories on our lives.

08.01.2022 An emotional day today as we fare-welled our team mate and treasured friend, Ian...standing silently together as we formed a guard of honour. Thankyou to Janice for allowing us to take part in Ian's fare-well. It was truly an honour to raise our paddles for this wonderful man...along with our friends, family and fellow paddlers from Warriors DBC to say goodbye. We will miss him xxx

07.01.2022 Head Coach Position Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club are seeking Expressions of Interest for their Head Coach Position. This position is for the 2020/21 season. Position Overview... The Head Coach will develop the necessary skill set of all coaches, paddlers and support staff to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills, fitness, competence and enthusiasm to reach their individual goals and the team goals of the Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club. The Head Coach will be responsible for training assistant coaches and paddlers by analysing their performance, instructing in relevant skills and providing encouragement. For more information regarding the position email Craig. Email: [email protected] EOI's close Tuesday 14 July 2020

07.01.2022 Some of our sunshine Brave Hearts at the rose garden at Sumsion Gardens.

05.01.2022 It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the passing of our very dear friend and fellow Brave Heart, Ian Moreland, after a very short illness. Ian joined our club in 2018 after being recruited by some of our ladies at the Commercial Club Gym. He quickly became a part of our family, paddled in every regatta, was a member of the Victorian Regional team at the Australian Championships in 2019 and won the Rising Star Award for the 2018/2019 Season. His love for life, for ...paddling with his team mates and for our club shone through brightly and was infectious to us all... Ian was always there to lend a hand (often early to help set up the boats), a friendly face around our club... but one of his biggest loves at the club was supporting our leisure cruisers to get onto the water with a smile, a laugh and always having fun We would like to extend our deepest condolences to Ian’s wife, Janice and his family. We are so very sorry for your loss. He will always have a very special place in our hearts, each of us having our own memories of Ian that we will hold dear. Rest in Peace now Ian there is a seat for you in our dragon boat forever our friendfly high Brave Heart! We will miss you xxx

05.01.2022 Good afternoon to the special group of our Dragon Boat club - our Leisure paddlers and their support crew, Thank you Maxine for this opportunity to say a big hi to everyone and send my love and support to everyone. The Facebook posts I used to look forward to, Pre COVID-19, were the ones that followed those special sessions on a Sunday afternoon with you fun loving leisure cruisers having a wonderful time laughing, singing, telling jokes, catching up with each other along wit...h keeping in time paddling. The beautiful photos accompanying the posts were always so memorable and encapsulated the togetherness and love that oozed with each paddle. These past three months have been certainly hard to bear. The emotional angst that has been experienced has been accentuated by the fact that we have not been able to get together and in particular use a dragon boat as that wonderful vehicle to support each other. With Spring at our doorstep we hope that this will be a sign that this virulent virus can be kept more contained and we can restart these special sessions again. Until then please take every opportunity to look out for each other, take care of yourselves and enjoy the start of the warmer weather and the beautiful signs of Spring. Special wishes are also sent to all the fathers and grandfathers today on Fathers Day - hope you all get spoilt. I still love Winnie the Pooh and constantly take heed to the many lessons that A A Milne cleverly alludes to in his many stories so am sharing one of his wee excerpts with the help of Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore. Jen Black

03.01.2022 Hi all, just a reminder that the walking group is on tomorrow morning. At the Riverdeck cafe, 8.30 for walkers, and 9.30 for those who just want to catch up and have a cuppa. Hope to see you there xx

02.01.2022 We’d love to share a very touching, and moving story with you all. As many of you may be aware, and others who don’t, one of our members Shane Lentholm, had his lower left leg amputated last December. He has been making some amazing progress with his recovery, even to the point of running races with Levi his son. About a month ago, Shane was due to get a new carbon fibre prosthetic leg made. He was inspired to put a dragon design on it, more specifically a Brave Hearts the...me! The legs are able to have material (like t-shirts) cut out and used on them as part of the build process. It’s almost like picking out a tattoo and getting it inked on. The idea was going to be, to cut up Levi’s race shirt to use on the leg, but Shane was a bit hesitant about all that colour on his leg. He was wanting the end result to look a bit more like our beautiful club rain jackets. This is where the story takes a magic twist. Shane was introduced to Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club by Ian Moreland. They both used to attend the same gym, and Ian persuaded Shane to bring Levi down to paddle with the juniors. It was the beginning of a very special bond. One that would be sadly broken for all of us when Ian passed in June after a hard fought, but short battle with cancer. Thanks to Ian’s wife, Janice Moreland, the shirt that now forms the design on Shane’s new leg, is one of Ian’s training tops. Not only does this give it the fantastic look that has been achieved, but is a lasting honour of Ian’s memory, that will forever be with Shane, and us at the lake and regattas that we attend. The people who have made this leg, Limbs for Life, have been so touched by the background story, that they are going to put together a report and photo of Shane wearing it. This will be posted to their Facebook page, and we are hoping to share that link with you all when it happens. Congratulations Shane on your wonderful new leg! And thank you for your dedication to Brave Hearts. It is uplifting, inspiring and brings warmth to our hearts.

01.01.2022 Brave Hearts friends gathered together last week for a cuppa and reminiscing after forming a Guard of Honour for our beautiful Brave Heart Di Laundess. It was lovely to see some of our original BH's paddlers who came to join us.