30-year dinner to aid Great White Campaign

Push to have neurosurgeon based in Toowoomba continues.

The campaign to have a neurosurgeon based in Toowoomba after the 2015 death of Brayd “The Great White” Smith will be highlighted at next month’s 30 Years Of Blood, Sweat and Tears dinner in Toowoomba. Picture: Contributed

BOXING : Brendon Smith has fought and won numerous life battles on his way to reaching many goals.

But there is one success he is yet to tick off and he is determined not to rest until he can bring it home for Toowoomba.

Smith is a passionate advocate for a neurosurgeon to be based in the Garden City.

Smith became a driving force for more immediate neurosurgeon care on the Downs after the tragic death of his son Brayd from a brain injury sustained in a Toowoomba boxing match in 2015.

It was the catalyst for the Brayd’s The Great White (TGW) Campaign to Bring a Neurosurgeon to Toowoomba.

Smith and a committee of equally dedicated campaigners are continuing their push to bring the service to Australia’s largest inland provincial city.

The Great White Campaign Inc committee’s work will be at the forefront of next month’s 30 Years Of Blood, Sweat & Tears tribute dinner at Toowoomba Turf Club where Smith’s 30-year anniversary as a Toowoomba boxing contributor will be recognised.

Money raised on the night will assist the campaign.

“We need a surgical unit here,” Smith said

“We have such a wonderful team together for the Great White Campaign.

“We sat and we talked and it came up about the 30 years coming up and all the rest.

“I’ve never done this and it’s been a difficult one.

“I’m keeping it positive.

“We came up with let’s do the 30 years and have a nice special reunion.

“It should be a wonderful night of great people in a room and it’s for the greatest cause I think is so badly needed.

“Every day you hear of something happening to someone.

“I hear often that somebody has had an accident and they need to be flown to Brisbane and we all know the importance of time and what it can mean in life-and-death situations.

“It’s a much needed thing for our region.

“We don’t know tomorrow who the next car accident, the next stroke, the next football player or jockey, or school accident victim might be.

“We don’t know who’s going to need an operation right there and then.

“The doctors and everyone do a wonderful job, but the reality is we do need this service.

“Minutes or seconds can be the difference in maybe saving a life.”

About 70 tickets remain available for the dinner.

They can be purchased at toowoombatickets.com.au