Beyond Blue ambassador keynote speaker

Beyond Blue ambassador David Corduff will visit Bairnsdale on Tuesday, February 26 as the keynote speaker for East Gippsland Shire Council’s Grow your Business forum.

David is a passionate advocate for reducing the stigma of mental illness, both personally and professionally, and as someone who has experienced two bouts of major depression is well placed to talk about how mental illness affected both his personal and business lives.

In his volunteer role as a Beyond Blue ambassador, David will share his lived experiences as part of his commitment to encourage and offer hope to those who are afflicted by mental illness and their family and friends. His mantra for addressing mental health issues is to seek professional help and not suffer in silence.

David is a semi-retired businessman who co-founded Gateways, a men’s group for retrenched middle-aged executives susceptible to depression. He also mentored recently released prisoners who had been incarcerated for white collar crime, to prepare for a new start.

The forum will be held at the Federation Training lecture theatre at 48 Main Street, Bairnsdale, from 8.30am to 1pm, and Mayor Cr Natalie O’Connell said there will be insights, resources and ideas for locals on how to take the next step when looking to expand their businesses.

“Key themes will include how to gear up your business to become an inclusive employer, business mentoring and business finance, while there will also be opportunities for making new networking connections,” Cr O’Connell said.

“The line-up of guest speakers includes Steve Ronalds (Gippsland Jersey), Jaime Savory (Gippsland Finance Solutions) and representatives from Small Business Mentoring Services (Helen Ward), Melbourne Innovation Centre (Vivien Vo), Bryan McCormick (Workways Australia chief executive officer) and Grow Gippsland Latrobe Valley Authority (Jeanie Hall).

For anyone wanting to expand their business opportunities book through the Try Booking website - https://www.trybooking.com/463966. The forum cost is $25 per head.

The Grow Your Business Forum is coordinated by Council’s Economic Development Team. 

Beyond Blue ambassador David Corduff will share his lived experiences as part of his commitment to encourage and offer hope to those who are afflicted by mental illness and their family and friends at a business forum in Bairnsdale on February 26.