DANNY BERGAN MEMORIAL
On 10th March 2007, Danny Bergan lost his battle after 2 tough years fighting Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Acting on a promise to Danny, his son Daniel Bergan and his best friend Stuart Jamieson they set out to do all they could to ensure that Danny's wife was financially secure and that they would do all they could to help raise awareness and research into this debilitating disease known as MND.
In April 2007 Daniel and Stuart came up with idea of 'The Danny Bergan Memorial Golf Day' that would be annual event, setup in memory of their fallen father and “mate”. A fun day to honour and remember Danny, but also raise money to be donated to MND research.
On 25th January 2008, the 1st Danny Bergan Memorial Golf Day was held and raised in excessive of $10,000.00. The day in its inception was mostly supported by Danny’s family and friends.
Who knew what started then, would be what it has turned out to be now. The Danny Bergan Memorial Golf Day is an annual event, held always on the Friday before Australia Day. The day now attracts 120 starters and has completed 4 successive years, raising in excess of $45,000 in it's first 3 years.
In its early years the majority of funds went directly to Carol Bergan, Danny's wife to establish her into a new residence and cover the costs associated with living on her own with no income, however over $15,000 was donated by Carol to the MND Association.
Daniel and Stuart whilst happy with the success of their Golf Day knew that they could “do more” and after hours of surfing the net, the pair stumbled upon a foundation known as MonSTaR.
In an instant, it just felt right. An email to the MonSTaR Foundation Board followed up with a face to face meeting quickly established 2 groups of “perfect strangers” with one very like minded goal. The decision was made to include the Danny Bergan events under the banner of the MonSTaR Foundation.
This is where the golf day was taken to a new level. In its 4th year the golf day raised almost $30,000 with all proceeds going directly to MonSTaR.
In 2010, the decision was made to add a 2nd event to the Danny Bergan Memorial calendar and to commemorate the joining of the two groups. For those that knew Danny, his 2 biggest passions in life was his family & friends and his love for Harness Racing. July 2010 saw what was only natural, the first running of the MonSTaR Foundation - Danny Bergan Memorial at Penrith Paceway. This also created a donation to MonSTaR of over $7,000. Total funds raised under the Danny Bergan Memorial banner exceeds $75000.
All proceeds now raised at any Danny Bergan Memorial Event go directly to the MonSTaR Foundation with an aim of being part of a bigger picture.
Now in 2011 the idea is to add more events and support the MonSTaR Foundation in their overall goal to raise $1,000,000.00
Daniel and Stuart would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to their dedicated and continued Major Sponsors: St George Bank, Club Rivers, Stykris, Lion – Nathan and Schweppes.
