We love a feel good story here at The Water Cooler, and this one might just take out the feel good story of the year!
State Political Reporter for TVQ, Brendan Smith, has recently raised close to a quarter of a million dollars for Women’s Legal Service.
How? Brendan and his partner, Brendon trained for six months with a choreographer to battle it out on the ultimate dance floor at the Dancing CEOs annual charity fundraiser.
You read correctly! Keep reading for the details.
Tell us about your role at 10 and what you love about it.
I’m the State Political Reporter for Queensland, which I love. It’s fun to keep the pollies on their toes! No day is the same, there’s a great mix of stories.
I started my career at 10 in 2009 as an Intern Production Assistant and Freelance Reporter. I also had a small stint last year, but now I’m back for good! My constant pestering finally worked!
I’ve worked with other networks and nothing beats 10 – the Queensland team is the BOMB DOT COM.
I’ve never worked in such a supportive, driven, vivacious place.
We have each other’s back, we deliver brilliant stories and we do it with a smile on our face.
Holly Green knows how a newsroom should run; she steers the ship with precision every day. A true leader.
Tell us about Dancing CEO’s and what they do?
Dancing CEO’s is an annual event raising money for Women’s Legal Service.
The charity supports women and children experiencing domestic violence and helps them make the next step in leaving their abuser.
The event brings 10 CEOs together to battle it out on the dancefloor.
My partner Brendon Mann and I trained for more than six months with a choreographer and worked on a ‘Time Warp’ routine. We started with The Twist, YMCA, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, then Single Ladies.
It was an experience, to say the least! Dancing in front of 1,200 people at City Hall is slightly nerve wracking!
Why is this charity important to you?
This charity is so important to me and my partner because domestic violence is still rife across the country. I’ve sadly covered the Hannah Clarke story from start to finish and saw firsthand how domestic violence destroys innocent lives and tears families apart.
My partner Brendon is CEO and Founder of Epic Hair Designs and we wanted to do something to show the team and clients that we support them and we’re here to help.
You had a target to raise $30K and annihilated that by raising close to a quarter of a million dollars! How did you do that and how did that make you feel?
Our final tally was $242,327 – we were utterly thrilled with the outcome.
We took out Top Fundraiser and Record-Breaking Fundraiser for Dancing CEOs.
We did this through donations from friends, family and clients. We also hosted a 5km charity walk, cocktail party at our home and a black-tie gala for 320 people – a rather busy year!
We hustled hard but knew the money would go to saving lives and starting new ones.
Just $50 will give a woman 30 minutes with an expert from Women’s Legal Service to help them map out their next move.
Let’s move onto your dancing skills now… What song will always get you on the D-floor?
I’m sure my colleagues would say it doesn’t take much to get me moving. Whack on some tunes and I’m there – newsroom, club, wherever! I’m sure that’s why Holly hired me, right? I don’t think my skills will ever get me a professional gig, I sneezed the other day and threw my back out.
Could you take on the Studio 10 hosts? They’ve got some amazing moves…
I’m always up for a challenge! We need a cheeky little dance battle around Christmas time, hold my Chardy, I’m ready to cut some shapes!
