5th FEAT feat

That's the 5th edition of FEAT here all done and dusted. The evening went very smoothly and the speakers were fabulous. Obviously the perfectionist in me has a list of things to tweak and improve, but for the rest it was a wonderful evening.

Simon Gear is a superb MC - chilled, friendly, sporty, witty... a perfect combination for this event.

I had an excellent team behind the scenes with Alistair (sound), Kyle (slides), Marcel and Maggi (photos), Willem and Tiaan (photography), Liz (catering and many other odds), Ray (helping out all day), Marcelle (microphone rigging), Lauren and Staci (guest ticket table), Mari (assisting with tickets and at the photo wall) and Garry (organising the parking guys).

The speakers are the people that the audience is at FEAT to listen to and this year the mix was diverse. You can read a summary of the speakers and their topics on the FEAT website.

It was only when I received June Fabian's email post-event that the speaker mix was in the 'more mature' age category. Interestingly, the audience mix was also older and wiser - and when they booked their tickets they didn't know who all the speakers would be...

A FEAT regular, June writes:

I was going to email you to say its one of the best FEATs I have been to – each one is different, I agree, but last night was very special. As I get older, and so many worlds are getting more narrow, it's such an inspiration to see older peeps getting out there, exploring, engaging with our beautiful country and LIVING – and to have a platform to share it.

Yes! A FEAT mission accomplished. FEAT was precisely created to be this kind of a platform.

A second FEAT mission was accomplished when journo Sarah Kobel from Do It Now Magazine said to me afterwards that after listening to the talks she just felt like heading off on an adventure and doing some of the things she's always wanted to do. Yes, yes, yes!

So, it was a good night and now I look ahead to two mini-FEAT events in mid-November. They've been on the cards for years - finally getting this aspect of FEAT off the ground. More on this in the next week.