Just under 1000 people, almost all men with hearty appetites, have tickets to this year’s Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch at the Museum of Vehicle Evolution on Friday, August 26.
And, where there was a need, you often find Rotary service club members stepping up to meet that need.
In this case, members from four Rotary clubs — Shepparton South, Shepparton Central, Shepparton and Mooroopna.
They have all fallen in line behind Shepparton South member David Earle, whose job it was to feed and water the masses.
“In order to feed 1000 blokes, we have set up four kitchens,” he said.
“So we’ll have 10 Rotarians in a kitchen and we have a professional chef in each kitchen supervising the whole thing.
“So it’s a logistics exercise, but if we think we’re just taking platters out to 25 tables, it’s doable.
“So that’s how we’re going to manage it.”
All of Mr Earle’s team are volunteers and he admitted to being a little daunted by the task at first.
“It was (daunting), yes,” he said.
“I’ve done some big catering events with Rotary, but look, the strength of Rotary is that you can all work together and we’re easily able to assemble 50 people to work on kitchens and the bar.
“It’s a challenge. I love a challenge and it’s like doing the logistics.’’
Mr Earle said his motivation for taking on such a major task was not only to help the community.
He said everyone involved could tell a story of the impacts of men ignoring their health needs.
“Everyone’s got a contact,’’ Mr Earle said.
“We’ve all got a friend who’s had bowel cancer or prostate cancer.
“So in our age group, it’s dear to our heart, and I go back, I was in Apex with Chris McPherson and he was the one who started this, so there’s a bond there right from when they started it.”
Mr McPherson, an owner of McPherson Media Group, publisher of The News, started Shepparton’s Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009.
He died in December 2015.
“Chris was a great mate and we do it for Chris and what he started up is just incredible.”
The lunch is one of the Goulburn Valley’s major events and organised specifically to promote health messages to men.
Money raised from the lunch goes towards funding bowel and prostate cancer specialist nurses at Goulburn Valley Health in Shepparton.
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