S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Coley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: People with disabilities have their disabilities created by the ignorance
S3: and intolerance of the world around them, not by themselves.
S3: And I think the more we can do to bring
S3: forward the really great capabilities of people who are in
S3: the blindness and low vision community, to have them being
S3: first choice for jobs and living in an environment that
S3: really suits and is built for them. It's just a
S3: really important challenge for all Australians.
S2: Welcome to the program. We've got a jam packed show
S2: for you this week with some big news from Vision
S2: Australia CEO Ron Horton, who will be finishing up as
S2: CEO as of the 2nd of August. You'll hear from
S2: Ron later on in the show as I catch up
S2: with him on Talking Vision to take a look back
S2: over the past 11.5 years, but also look to the
S2: future and find out what perhaps may be next in
S2: store for him down the track. But before you hear
S2: from Ron, I catch up with Daniel Fenech, the director
S2: of the Blind See, a documentary featuring blind surfer, cyclist
S2: and Paralympian Matt Formston which will be coming out in August,
S2: so make sure to check your local cinemas. I hope
S2: you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off
S2: the show this week, I chat with Daniel Fenech. I
S2: began the conversation with Daniel by asking him to give
S2: an overview of his documentary, The Blind See?
S4: Sure. So the Blind See is a documentary. It's about
S4: former Paralympic cyclist and four time world champion para surfer
S4: Matt Formston, who a lot of your listeners are at
S4: Vision Australia might have heard of before, is quite proactive
S4: with the VA community. So this is a documentary on
S4: Matt's life. But, you know, as part of, I guess,
S4: the adventure of of following somebody to do a documentary,
S4: we actually followed him on his journey to go big
S4: wave surfing. So we took Matt to Nazaré where he
S4: surfed what turned out to be a world record wave
S4: for a male visually impaired so far.
S2: Oh my God. Okay. Yeah. That's amazing. Tell me about
S2: that world record wave that Matt was involved with. I'm
S2: pretty sure not only myself, but a lot of the
S2: listeners out there, probably full of questions like, you know,
S2: how does that even happen? How do you set up
S2: the opportunity for, you know, something like that to even
S2: come about?
S4: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was that caught us by surprise, actually.
S4: So when we set out to make this film, we
S4: were actually planning on shooting it exclusively in Australia. There's
S4: plenty of great spots all along the East coast. And
S4: what unfortunately happened for us is, you know, obviously weather
S4: changes and things. We didn't get the swells that we
S4: were looking for. So that year in pre through Covid
S4: we didn't get the monster winter swells that normally happen.
S4: And then the following year when we did get into
S4: production didn't happen either. And I turned to Dylan Longbottom
S4: who's our kind of Mr. Miyagi of the movie. He's
S4: like a big wave legend. He's a surfboard shaper, makes
S4: all the, you know, the big wave surfboards. You know,
S4: for all the pro big wave surfers like Chumbo and Justine.
S4: So I turned to Dylan. I go, mate, we're not
S4: really having any luck in Australia. Do you think we
S4: can get married to Nasreen back alive? Dylan thought for
S4: a minute. Oh, yeah, 100%. So, you know, we, you know, scrambled.
S4: A month later, we're on a plane off to Portugal,
S4: and we get there and like the whole lead up
S4: to it, there was like, weather reports saying, Big Mama's coming.
S4: Big Mama's coming. And for those who know, who don't
S4: know how it kind of works, they're big. Mama is
S4: like the big 100 foot wave that everyone dreams of.
S4: So we had two weather systems that were going to
S4: collide and create Big Mama, and we're going to get
S4: like The Ride of a life. And Matt was like
S4: training hard. He's doing his breath holes and his toe
S4: training and everything that he had to do to prepare
S4: himself because he, you know, it was coming. And it
S4: turns out Big Mama didn't come. And there was just
S4: this monster mash up of storms and whitewash, and we
S4: actually couldn't get Matty out onto the water until the
S4: last day, which was extremely stressful. So when we finally
S4: did get out there, Marty had a pretty good run.
S4: And that last wave, um, we saw it. We all
S4: just could not believe what we saw. And Maddy picked
S4: up a world record. You know, we had it measured
S4: and we had it certified and yeah, picked up a
S4: Guinness World Record for the largest wave surfed by a
S4: vision impaired male at 50 something feet, which is a
S4: five story building. So he was surfing a five story
S4: building at about 70km an hour.
S2: Oh my God. That's incredible. And, yeah, you've got something
S2: else in store for us on the end of that
S2: as well.
S4: Yes, yes, yes. One of the things that was really interesting,
S4: because I don't serve, one of the things I found
S4: really interesting was that apart from riding the wave, one
S4: of the best moments when you're surfing is those conversations
S4: you have out back with your mates. So you paddle
S4: out the back and you're sitting on the board and
S4: you're waiting for your set to come. And those are
S4: some of the best moments and memories people have. Waterproof
S4: microphones don't really exist, and the kind of coming through now,
S4: but we rigged up some specialist microphones that could record locally,
S4: so we actually waterproof these microphones and sent the boys
S4: out back with these microphones on. So one of the
S4: things about this film is it's all about inclusion. Well,
S4: that's one of our key themes. And you get to
S4: see people from all over the world with all different
S4: skill sets, helping me achieve his dream. And one of
S4: the ways we demonstrated that was having those microphones. And
S4: I don't even know if there is a movie out
S4: there yet where you can hear so clearly what goes on.
S4: But you can, you know, you can hear them cheering
S4: and psyching Maddie up and all those moments that lead
S4: up to riding that wave. And you can see how
S4: hard it is because because you were invited into that
S4: world and you're part of that journey. And that's something
S4: that we're quite proud of as well. It's like you
S4: get to peer behind the curtain and see, like everything
S4: that goes on, which is exciting.
S2: Speaking of those little sounds you pick up and all
S2: that sort of thing, you've been quite involved with quite
S2: a few people on the soundtrack. A lot of indie
S2: artists and a lot of people who've contributed to the
S2: music for the film. So tell us a bit about them.
S4: Yeah, yeah. So obviously the sound design is extremely important.
S4: We've got a great review, someone saying that this film
S4: has to be heard just as much as seen. We
S4: put a lot of effort into the sound and obviously
S4: the guys at massive were incredible. We have a composer
S4: who composed a couple of like the key moments in
S4: the film, like pivotal emotional scenes with being an indie film,
S4: our budgets were like tiny, tiny, tiny. So one of
S4: the things that I did was I reached out to
S4: a whole stack of indie musicians that I like and
S4: I follow, and I said, hey, look, you've got this
S4: track here or that track there. It's beautiful, you know?
S4: How do you feel about it being in a movie
S4: because it fits so well. And a lot of these
S4: musicians were like, well, if you like that, I've got
S4: this whole library of just like little ditties and things.
S4: So the majority of the film, I'm quite proud of
S4: this because we're an indie production company. It's an indie film,
S4: but the majority of the music was produced by indie
S4: musicians as well. So unsigned artists who are out there
S4: week after week just peddling their music and their career,
S4: you know, got an opportunity to have their music played
S4: at the Sydney Film Festival in a few weeks. We're
S4: playing at the Sydney Opera House. Like they get to
S4: have their music on one of the biggest platforms in
S4: the country, and we're so stoked we can all come
S4: together for this.
S2: Yeah. That's amazing. Hopefully it launches a few careers. Yes.
S2: Keep our fingers crossed there for sure. Now, Dan, I
S2: want to go back to that relationship between you and
S2: Matt in particular. Had you known Matt for quite a while,
S2: how did you get connected up with him?
S4: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'd known Matty for quite a while.
S4: We both worked together at Optus, which is his day job,
S4: and I was making content for his Rio Paralympic cycling campaign.
S4: So that's when I first met Manuel shooting stuff together.
S4: And and I always said to him, I said, look,
S4: you've got a really good story. It's pretty inspiring, but
S4: it's also really interesting and you should really think about
S4: getting a documentary made. And it turns out I wasn't
S4: the only person that had been saying it to him. And,
S4: you know, a couple of years later, I'd moved on and,
S4: you know, we'd stayed in contact. And he goes, oh, Dan,
S4: I'm ready to tell my story. And I'm like, dude,
S4: I think I'm ready to tell it. Because back then
S4: I was just coming up through the ranks. And, you know,
S4: I'd sort of gotten a lot better over the years, like,
S4: can you let me have a crack? And that was it.
S4: It was just, you know, trust both ways. So it
S4: sort of took us about a year or so to
S4: develop the story and get the initial sort of funding
S4: in place. Um, and then once that first sponsor jumped
S4: on board, it kind of like it just, you know,
S4: just sort of like steamrolled after that. And then the
S4: whole project itself took about four years from start to finish. Wow.
S2: Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty incredible. And that's four year journey.
S2: And then you know, and the start of that was um,
S2: in amongst Covid and all the curveballs that that threw
S2: and um, your direction no doubt. But um, so which
S2: is good for.
S4: Us for um, because we developed all the pre through Covid,
S4: so we didn't really have to go anywhere. There was
S4: no distractions. Oh That was help. That turned out really helpful.
S4: But yeah, the first shoot was like straight after the
S4: gates had opened and they let international travel happen. So
S4: they were like straight out there to get started. Wow.
S2: That's unbelievable. Give us a bit of an insight into
S2: those four years, what the process was like there and
S2: all that sort of thing. What was that like for
S2: you and the team?
S4: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I spent a lot of time
S4: with Matty just chatting about his story and the legacy
S4: he wanted to leave. What sort of, you know, messages
S4: that were kind of important to him, or life lessons
S4: that were important to him and kind of who was
S4: in his circle. So as a filmmaker, I was doing
S4: a lot of that groundwork just to work out what
S4: the story was going to be and how we were
S4: going to tell it. And then aesthetically, I spoke to
S4: Matt at length about movies, too, because obviously Matt's got
S4: like 3% vision. He's got macular dystrophy. So he only
S4: sees in his peripherals like maybe how do you watch movies?
S4: So we spoke a lot about what worked for him,
S4: what didn't work for him. And it kind of shaped
S4: the way we built the whole edit from those initial conversations. So,
S4: you know, some of the things that we applied is
S4: we kept characters to an absolute minimum. So there's still
S4: a handful of characters, but, you know, there's not too
S4: many people. And the other thing too, is I actually
S4: watched a lot of movies without the vision on just
S4: to put myself in that perspective. So yeah, limiting the
S4: amount of characters was pretty important. So that way it
S4: wasn't too disorientating and we used quite a lot of
S4: observational sequences. So a lot of the cues that Marty
S4: and I'm sure a lot of your listeners would use
S4: when you just sort of out and about in public, like,
S4: you know, you get a feel for a person's personality
S4: through their mannerisms and their intonation and the way they
S4: speak and just sort of allowing the scene to have
S4: those moments. You can kind of bond, I guess, with
S4: the characters on screen. And then also found that documentaries
S4: that were just like, you know, one person talks and
S4: then you cut to another person talking, and then there's
S4: just overlay vision, but it's just two people, three people
S4: backwards and forwards talking. You kind of lose track of
S4: who's who. So we kind of kept all that sort
S4: of talking head to a minimum. But yeah, we just
S4: let a lot of the observational sequences happen and we
S4: spent quite a lot of time in sound design too.
S4: So the crew over at Massive Music were just incredible,
S4: the way that they handled the sound design, like a
S4: lot of detail, like we did, you know, not just
S4: like the diegetic soundscape when you're outside and in the environment,
S4: but also things like, we took Matt for an eye
S4: test for Doctor Sam and just having all the little
S4: gadgets and gizmos and touching and just all those sounds
S4: that you would hear. They cleaned a lot of that
S4: up because we had microphones and they exposed a little
S4: bit cleaner and all that, but even and then even
S4: things like when Matt's out on the wave and it's
S4: really dramatic and all the music stops, you can still
S4: hear the surfboard slicing through the water, so you still
S4: can track what's going on. So that was a big
S4: thing for us, was to kind of make it the
S4: film as accessible as possible. And then obviously chatting with
S4: Michael over at Vision Australia, he actually wrote the script
S4: for the audio description. So having a blind audience catered
S4: for with this film was pretty paramount for us.
S2: Oh yeah, and on that topic of audio description, how
S2: much did you know about audio description before you started
S2: working with Matt and with Vision Australia and the Blind
S2: and Low Vision community, was that something you'd always had
S2: in your mind as a filmmaker? A sort of in
S2: there as something to, you know, make these sort of
S2: things accessible? What's that been like? Yeah.
S4: Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I've never listened to audio description.
S4: I knew it existed, but I never have, never had
S4: a need. So I sort of never worried about it.
S4: So I did watch a few films with it and,
S4: you know, some of it, some of the films, they
S4: put out ads and they just seem lazy, you know,
S4: it's just like a statement here and a statement there.
S4: And what Michael brought to it is he really brought
S4: a sense of poetry to like scene descriptions and just
S4: contextualizing the vision. So even the voiceover artist, she was like, man,
S4: this is probably twice as long as a normal audio
S4: description script for me. So there's like, you know, obviously,
S4: you know, we kind of want to be best in
S4: class with that kind of thing. But I know Maddie
S4: doesn't really watch with audio description too much. So as
S4: much as I understand that it's great for the low
S4: vision community to have it, there's going to be people
S4: who don't want it. That's where the observational sequences and
S4: all those sort of little tricks came into play. So
S4: that way it's kind of however you want to consume
S4: this film, you've got an option for you.
S2: And that's super important because, you know, as we're both
S2: fully aware, the blind and low vision community is by
S2: no means a monolith. And myself, as somebody with low vision,
S2: I sort of consume movies in my own way. And
S2: as you said, so do many other people out there.
S2: So that's really interesting to hear. You've had that experience
S2: as well, talking to quite a few people who do
S2: interact with these movies a different way. So in terms
S2: of where people can go and watch the blind, see
S2: what's the best way for them to do that, where
S2: should they keep tabs on that?
S4: Yeah, well there's two ways. Like we've been really, really
S4: blown away with how many people have gotten excited about
S4: this film and picked it up. So I would just say,
S4: you can reach out to your local cinema and check
S4: to see if it's in there coming soon, you know,
S4: you know, listed as a coming soon film, but you
S4: can go to the blind see website and the blind
S4: see website is the blind see. Com.au forward slash watch
S4: the film. And we've been working really, really hard. Our EP,
S4: she's just been so busy just trying to keep on
S4: top of every new listing that pops up, but she's
S4: been adding every cinema screening to that website, so you
S4: can just go straight to our website and jump on
S4: that tab, and it'll take you to, you know, your
S4: local cinema and you can jump, you know, from Northern
S4: Territory or WA or Sydney or wherever. there's listening to
S4: right around the country.
S2: All right. Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Daniel Fenech,
S2: director of the Blind See movie featuring blind surfer, Paralympian
S2: and blind cyclist Matt Formston. I'm Sam Culley and you're
S2: listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated Reading
S2: Radio stations and the Community Radio Network. I hope you
S2: enjoyed that conversation there with Daniel Fenech, director of the blind. See,
S2: today's interviews will be available in full as interview highlights
S2: on the Vision Australia Radio podcast feed. Simply head to
S2: your favorite podcast platform to have a listen. You can always,
S2: of course, find Talking Vision as well on the Vision
S2: Australia Radio website at VA radio.org that's VA radio.org or
S2: through the Vision Australia library. Coming up next I speak
S2: with Vision Australia CEO Ron Horton. I began my conversation
S2: with Ron by giving him the opportunity to share his
S2: immediate thoughts and feelings. Following his decision to step down
S2: as CEO of Vision Australia very shortly.
S3: On the 2nd of August. Actually, it's been just an
S3: enormous privilege to be part of this organisation. It's an
S3: organisation that serves the blindness and low vision community of Australia,
S3: and it does so with great distinction very, very well.
S3: I'm very proud of what our organization achieves.
S2: And it feels like literally yesterday that we were celebrating
S2: your ten year anniversary just a year and a half ago.
S2: That would have been now. So there is a few
S2: added things, a few added emotions. Now as you move on.
S2: It's a bit of a mixed kind of feeling that
S2: you'd be having right now, I suppose, tinged with a
S2: bit of sadness, but also quite a bit of excitement.
S3: Oh, very much so. It's 11.5 years for me in
S3: the organisation, and that's a long time. I've been around
S3: senior positions in organisations for 27 years now, and the
S3: hours have been very long and I'm tired and I
S3: need a break. Um, the The mixed emotions are very
S3: much that I leave the organization in a brilliant place.
S3: We have a great leadership team and we have 850
S3: people who have been my colleagues for some time now
S3: who do an absolutely amazing job. I'll miss every single
S3: one of my colleagues, but goodness me, I'm really ready
S3: for a break.
S2: Oh for sure. We'll get back to that later on
S2: and find out just what you might be getting up
S2: to over that break. But before I do that, Ron,
S2: Justine Heath will be taking over as acting CEO as
S2: of the 2nd of August. So could you speak to
S2: how you're feeling about that and the confidence that you
S2: have in not only Justine, but the leadership team more broadly?
S3: Oh, look, Virgin Australia is in very, very safe hands.
S3: I've known Justine now and worked with her for five years.
S3: She is an absolutely marvellous person. She's incredibly talented from
S3: a business perspective. She understands our culture, she understands blindness
S3: and low vision. I couldn't be more confident of anybody
S3: stepping in to that role. In terms of the leadership team,
S3: you have a marvellous group of people who, in their
S3: areas of specialization, do an absolutely fantastic job. My part
S3: for so many years has been to support them, to
S3: help them succeed, but they've been doing the job. People
S3: can feel very confident about the crew that's running Vision
S3: Australia today.
S2: Now, Ron, we've covered off a little bit on the
S2: future of Vision Australia right there with Justine and the
S2: leadership team going forward. But for the time being, I'd
S2: love to go through a bit of a highlight package
S2: of the last 11.5 years. There's so many achievements. I'm
S2: sure we could list off far too many to fit
S2: in a 15 minute or so conversation. But you know,
S2: things like the Life Ready Program, know your vision, all
S2: those sort of things, all the initiatives that you've been
S2: so heavily involved with. What's been the feelings around that
S2: and being able to be involved with those things that
S2: have helped so many people around Australia in the blind
S2: and low vision community.
S3: It's funny, Sam, that when you are moving day to day,
S3: you don't recognize what's been achieved. But over more than
S3: a decade now, the organization has grown remarkably. I think
S3: probably the first thing that I would mention is our
S3: transition to the NDIS And I started in January 2013,
S3: and in June 2013 the government launched the NDIS and
S3: it was launched in Newcastle and in Geelong. And we
S3: adopted a process of demonstration sites. We had no idea
S3: what the NDIS was going to look like, nor did
S3: the NDIS as it happened. So we just said to
S3: the people in those two locations, do whatever it takes.
S3: There are no rules. And that worked brilliantly for us.
S3: A couple of years later, we put in a great
S3: information system to support our organization. We did some rebranding.
S3: We used to be purple and green and now we're
S3: yellow and blue. That's right. Yeah, they're much more fashionable colors.
S2: Certainly.
S3: There was of course, the Covid times as well, which
S3: were very, very difficult for everyone. But our organization thrived
S3: through that. We kept going and did 95% of our
S3: service hours that we were previously doing before Covid with
S3: an enormous amount of telehealth. And then you mentioned Life Ready,
S3: and you mentioned know your Vision. Both are marvelous projects.
S3: The Life Ready program really does it for kids. Kids
S3: from the age zero, from from their their birth right
S3: through to their early 20s focused on getting them into jobs.
S3: I have such a lot of confidence in the people
S3: that are coming through those programs that they're going to
S3: get out there and make a big impact on life.
S3: The last one you mentioned, no, your vision is very
S3: much about our older Australians, and we expect that over
S3: the next decade, there's going to be about a 30%
S3: increase in the number of people who need our services
S3: and the Know Your Vision program, and an absolutely brilliant
S3: program checking in chat that helps people in that age
S3: group with their well-being are just going to be so
S3: necessary for that growing population. Three quarters of our clients
S3: now are over the age of 65, and that's going
S3: to be a cohort that is going to be so
S3: much in need over the next 10 to 20 years. Mhm.
S2: And Ron, I also wanted to go into the involvement
S2: that Vision Australia has had under your leadership with strengthening
S2: services for First Nations communities who are at higher risk
S2: of blindness or low vision in the Red centre, the
S2: Northern Territory more generally, but also over in Broome, up
S2: in the Kimberley and those sort of regions. And, you know,
S2: tell us a bit about those services that we're able
S2: to provide there.
S3: Oh, that's been an enormous passion project for me. Indigenous
S3: people have real challenges with vision loss and the program
S3: that we built, first of all, in Alice Springs, where
S3: we've partnered with the Congress organization up there to bring
S3: services to the local communities. And then in Broome with
S3: the Lions Outback Vision Centre have delivered. They've delivered brilliantly.
S3: We've got people on the ground there working with credible
S3: organisations trusted by the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
S3: It's just working very, very well. Over the last year,
S3: we've had a 17% increase in the number of Aboriginal
S3: people who gained services from Vision Australia. So I think
S3: the the record speaks for itself.
S2: We'll go to a little bit of a lighter topic, Ron. Now, um,
S2: as you mentioned earlier in the interview there, you're really
S2: keen to rest and recharge your batteries, so to speak.
S2: So no doubt over the past 11.5 years, there's been
S2: thousands and thousands of early mornings, late nights, wall to
S2: wall meetings, commitments and everything like that. Being able to
S2: just switch off, take a break. What are you looking
S2: forward to the most getting up to and spending your
S2: free time? What do you love to do there?
S3: Oh look I'm going to try and play some more golf. Yes. Uh,
S3: one of the career options that I have going forward
S3: is not going to be PGA Tour or Seniors Tour,
S3: but I'd love to get out there in the outdoors.
S3: I want to do some more hiking. I was looking
S3: enviously at a mornington Peninsula hike, but I've also got
S3: in mind the 80 kilometre coastal trek in Sydney some time.
S3: Bit of gardening. Our garden is somewhat rundown, maybe a
S3: little bit of woodworking, but also I want to have
S3: the time to learn. There are a whole lot of
S3: things that I want to get in there and learn about.
S3: Maybe a bit of computer coding, some new theories coming
S3: through on AI. So I'm going to be really busy.
S3: I'm going to go and do another job sometime soon.
S3: I don't know when that is, and I don't know
S3: what that is, but the options are so many that
S3: I have to spend time also working out how to choose.
S2: Yeah, that's the exciting part. I know you are also
S2: a bit of a sports tragic, Ron. Um, and it's
S2: perfect timing as the Olympics are just upon us now.
S2: So being able to spend a few late nights watching
S2: the Olympics and that sort of thing, but also the
S2: cricket's not far away as things warm up. But we've
S2: also got the northern hemisphere summer, so, you know, watching
S2: a bit of that.
S3: Oh, that will be wonderful. I am a cricket tragic.
S3: And in the Olympics there are a couple of things
S3: that I'm really, really excited about. Water polo is a
S3: sport again and our boys were represented of water polo
S3: players back in New Zealand. So they they'll be passionately
S3: watching that, as will we. But I'm really looking forward
S3: to seeing how Jess Gallagher does. Jess is a good
S3: friend of mine and a part of the blindness and
S3: low vision community of Australia, and she's, I think, at
S3: her third or fourth Olympics, including Summer and Winter and Sam,
S3: I'm sure you'll get her back on the program sometime soon.
S2: Love to. Yeah. She's a great contributor to not only
S2: the Olympic scene, but also all around in the blind
S2: and low vision community in a variety of roles that
S2: she's held and continues to hold and does some amazing work.
S2: So we do love to keep tabs on how she's going.
S2: She's an absolute seasoned pro now. I think, um, she's
S2: been well, you've said 3 or 4 Olympics. That might
S2: be even more than that. Yeah. She's been a super
S2: experienced Olympian, so we'd love to have her on the program.
S2: So Ron, finally, what sort of message would you like
S2: to leave our listeners with as we wrap up today?
S3: I think probably the most profound learning that I've had
S3: is that people with disabilities have their disabilities created by
S3: the ignorance and intolerance of the world around them, not
S3: by themselves. And I think the more we can do
S3: to bring forward the really great capabilities of people who
S3: are in the blindness and low vision community, to have
S3: them being first choice for jobs and living in an
S3: environment that really suits and is is built for them.
S3: It's just a really important challenge for all Australians. The
S3: other little message that I'd like to leave is that
S3: the blindness and low vision community has an absolute asset.
S3: In Vision Australia. I have 850 colleagues who I have
S3: the greatest fondness for, but also the greatest respect for
S3: their skill as therapists or in all the other roles,
S3: including your own. As a radio personality, we have a
S3: great organisation here that will serve blindness and low vision
S3: community of Australia for just many years to come.
S2: Thank you so much for being here today, Ron. It's
S2: been a pleasure to have you on the program over
S2: the past few years. So all the very best in
S2: your future, and I'm sure we will cross paths here
S2: or there somewhere. So I'm very excited to see where
S2: that might be.
S3: Sam, thank you very much. Signing off as CEO.
S2: Ron Horton there catching up with me on Talking Vision
S2: this week as he wraps up as Vision Australia CEO,
S2: effective as of the 2nd of August. And that's all
S2: the time we have for today. You've been listening to
S2: Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production.
S2: Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week.
S2: And remember we love hearing from you. So please get
S2: in touch anytime on our email at Talking Vision. At
S2: Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all. One word at Vision australia.org.
S2: But until next week it's Sam Colley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on 1300 847 406. That's one (300) 847-4106 or by visiting
S1: Vision Australia. Org that's Vision australia.org.