Maria Venuti will brighten Australia Day at Glenbrook

The Australia Day Ambassador Program advised Lower Blue Mountains Rotary of the appointment recently and the organising team for the popular annual event is delighted.

Rotary president Drew Fitzpatrick said the Glenbrook Australia Day celebration is one of the major annual attractions on the Blue Mountains community calendar and deserves an ambassador of the quality of Maria Venuti.

“Further details will be available later in the new year but we will make certain members of the public have plenty of opportunity to meet and enjoy Maria’s many talents,” he said.

Maria Venuti  has performed on the prestigious hotel/concert circuit  throughout Australia, Asia, Paris, Rome, Cairo and New York – as well as leading roles in popular movies like Big Mama’s Boy, Fat Pizza and Bathing Franky. Her one woman shows – Venuti Dates and I’m Still Standing – are still in demand.

She is an outstanding worker for charity and was recently honoured as Member of the Order of Australia for services to the community as a fundraiser for charitable organisations.

Some of her proudest moments have included accepting the Heart of Variety Award for her outstanding work with the children’s charity, acting as an Australia Day Ambassador on 19 consecutive occasions, and receiving numerous entertainment industry awards.

President Drew Fitzpatrick took the opportunity of the announcement of the Australia Day Ambassador to invite members of the public to volunteer to work alongside Rotarians, partners and friends to prepare and stage the big event on January 26.

“There is much preparation needed to ensure the success of this enjoyable community day – which we promote as Rotary’s gift to the community.

“In recent years, we have had as many as 15 volunteers providing outstanding assistance with a variety of tasks for a couple of hours the day prior and/or on January 26,” he said. Call Drew Fitzpatrick on 0411 137 815 or president-elect Pamela Noal on 0447 778 870.