David Brettell is now the CEO of Multiple Sclerosis Australia. He served as Manager of Venue Staffing and Volunteers for the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games ('SOCOG") in 2000.
David shared personal story in his speeches:
In 1972, I fell in love with something. The city was Munich and the happening was the Olympic Games. I had married only 18 months before and my wife convinced me that we should go the Olympics, for what we thought would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I caught the bug - and 29 years later the bug remains, and it's not curable! It's like the bug that we Australians fondly refer to as "green and gold malaria" - green and gold being our national sporting colours. So, seven Olympic Games and two Paralympic Games later, here I stand talking to you about my two passions: the Olympics and volunteering.
At 4:23 a.m. on September 24, 1993, my love affair was furthered. Sydney had just won what can only be described as a privilege: to host the Games of the 27th Olympiad. What a moment and a day that was for Sydney! I made a decision and a commitment on that day. The decision was to quit my job and do all I could to get a job with the Organising Committee. The commitment was to dedicate the next seven years of my life to promoting this fabulous event.
