Albury - Wodonga mayors give praise for revived City2City event | The Border Mail

bordermail.com.au · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Albury Wodonga Health chief executive Bill Appleby appeared at the revived City2City, saying funds raised were within expectations. Picture by Phoebe AdamsThe numbers for a revived healthcare fundraising event paint a different picture from the shaken community confidence in a Border hospital.Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingSave 30%All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperCrosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll other in your areaIn comparison, the 2024 event, promoted as the 10th and final edition, saw more than 4000 participants raise $160,000, making 2026 the second-highest since the event's inception in 2015.AWH chief executive Bill Appleby said the amount was "pretty much on par with where we thought it was going to be"."To have over 3000 participants is really just tremendous," he said.Albury Wodonga Health board chair Jonathan Green thanked previous organisers, Jen Hayes and Michelle Hudson, for their guidance in restarting this year's City2City under the hospital's banner. Picture by Phoebe AdamsAWH board chair Jonathan Green said this year's City2City was in the spirit of change, as 2026 marked the first year it ran under AWH leadership.Mr Green said funds would support allied health services, including "replacing and upgrading end-of-life equipment" and "introducing new tools and technologies that will help people get back to living well".In a rare show of unity for the cross-border health service, Wodonga mayor Michael Gobel said it was great to see so many people "participating in this incredibly important event for the two cities, one community and supporting Albury Wodonga Health"."This event is really symbolic of the community that we are - two different states, two different cities separated by a river, but absolutely bonded by the fact that we're one community committed to better healthcare services for our region," he said.Twin Cities mayors Kevin Mack and Michael Gobel presented positive messages of unity while still seeking an advocate to lobby for a greenfields development at Albury Wodonga Health. Picture by Phoebe AdamsMr Gobel's sentiments were echoed by Albury mayor Kevin Mack, who called the fundraiser for allied health "a great cause"."It's about our community getting together to support their community, but also support their health care outcomes," Mr Mack said."Congratulations to the team at Albury Wodonga Health for putting this wonderful event on, and what a wonderful place to finish here in Junction Place ... where the trains meet and where the people meet."A phone call between the alliance's chair, Mr Gobel, and Federation mayor Cheryl Cook soothed concerns that the $8138 put forward by Federation Council would not be used in the spirit of the lobby group.Money raised from this year's City2City will go towards the $10,000 Lucie Shanahan scholarship, named after the late speech pathologist known for her COVID updates.Mr Appleby said scholarship is to be perpetual and funded solely through subsequent City2City events.The inaugural recipient will be announced on March 19 at the hospital's staff and volunteer awards."We're a health service that really is trying to embed that multidisciplinary team approach to everything that we do," Mr Appleby said."So allied health, nursing, medicine, working together as a team ... it's really important that we invest in their development."SS&A Club chief executive Gerard Darmody and president Eddie Dunlop also offered another five years of support for the City2City.Amanda Cohn volunteered as a pacer for this year's City2City, having run many times before. Picture by Phoebe AdamsGreens MP Amanda Cohn was among the volunteers on the day, putting her experience in past City2City runs and ultramarathons to use as a pacer for other runners."It's such a fantastic event to bring people together to do something for health and fitness and community," she said."There's a particular novelty being able to run down the Lincoln Causeway while it's closed, for people to take over the road."Dr Cohn also thanked the volunteers at the event, saying "it takes a huge number of people to pull something like this off".DailyYour morning newsToday's top stories curated by our news team.