INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY LUNCH The first live lunch event of the year took place at The Sanctuary within the lush surroundings of the Adelaide Zoo on Friday, 4 March. With guests finally able to network in person with industry friends and associates to celebrate International Women’s Day, the excitement was palpable. A huge Thank You to Hon. David Pisoni MP, for gracing the event, and to special guest speaker, Jessica Adamson, for delivering an exceptional commentary on her work, and also about the inspiring women who are breaking the bias. A huge Thank You also to CCF SA event partners Zancott, McMahon Services, and Intract Australia, for making this event a rousing success! And everyone else who chipped in to make it happen.
THE INSIDE SCOOP Jess Adamson – award winning journalist, speaker, event host/facilitator, former 7 News presenter, South Australia.
Who doesn’t know her? What a treat it was to listen to Adamson at the Women’s Day Lunch. Dressed in a sleek cobalt blue outfit, the media wizard took to the microphone and transported her audience with her on a virtual trip of adventures and extraordinary stories. Effortlessly. Adamson studied journalism at the University of SA as she had been interested in the media from a young age. Azaria Chamberlain’s disappearance in 1980 captivated her. Starting her career at the Stock Journal, she worked there for five years before moving on to 7 News after ‘stalking’ Chris Willis (News Director of 7 News) on the phone for a year. She called him on the day Princess Diana died. That
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fortuitous call landed her a job to support the team needing additional manpower to cover the news. For the next 24 years of her wild adventures, Adamson covered some of the world’s biggest news stories that roller-coastered her through incredible highs and devastating lows – she wanted to share some of those moments at the event. First, she wanted to acknowledge the women who have made us proud. “I’m also going to talk about the women who continue to inspire me and what I’ve learned about calling out the bias, as we celebrate International Women’s Day.” She expressed how privileged it was to be sharing the room with women who are breaking the bias every single day. Women who have actually chosen careers in the civil industry! “Television news showed me the best and the worst of the human spirit,” said Adamson whose journalism experiences are now forever tattoed in her mind. “I was lucky enough to be part of the 7 Team at the Beijing and Sydney Olympics, and was two rows back as Cathy Freeman won that gold medal in 2000…
“I flew to the Antarctica for the day, skydived, hot air ballooned, travelled by submarine, Australian and American Airforce plane, helicopter and police boat. And landed on America’s biggest aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. Sobbed as the Beaconsfield miners emerged from their underground hell – alive!” But the assignment that changed her life forever was the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Within hours of the news, her crew was in Bandar Aceh in Indonesia, witnessing a human tragedy unfolding on an unimaginable scale – the Sumatran coast was reduced to ground zero, there was no power, and animals were loitering the runway. Thousands upon thousands of bodies were strewn everywhere. The crew camped at the Governor’s residence for two and a half weeks as he was in jail for corruption. They survived on army rations and had no shower facilities. It was an intense time with so much information to process. At a local hospital, a little boy, Zulfhami, became the human face of the tragedy for the crew. He gave them hope and the strength to leave eventually.
CIVIL CONNECT
