Preparing for his dancing debut will no doubt be a moo-ving experience for Ryan Speed.
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Oh come on, he’s selling a cow, how could the obvious pun be avoided?
Yes, an auction with a bovine theme will help the radio news reader raise money for his Stars of the Border Dance for Cancer campaign.
One thing led to another when family and friends wanted to support him in the Cancer Council NSW event, with the result Border real estate agent and farmer Graham Chapman is donating a cow for sale.
Mr Speed said the offbeat nature of the money spinner appealed to him.
“It’s not very often that you hear of it,” he said.
“I’m also doing a raffle and shaving my hair, which are pretty generic things when it comes to fundraising, so when it comes to selling a cow or a fundraiser that’s out of the ordinary I would be stupid to knock back an opportunity like that.
“I’m always one for the weird and quirky and the fun side of things.”
The auction date is still being finalised – after all, everyone needs to be in the right mooood for it (OK, one more).
Mr Speed and dance teacher Maddi Bullock will be among 13 couples in the Stars of the Border gala night on May 4, revealing the outcome of eight weeks’ work on their routines.
On Saturday organisers announced only 50 tickets were left for the event at Albury Entertainment Centre.
Like most of the Border identities taking part, Mr Speed’s dancing CV is quite limited, a debutante ball stint in high school notwithstanding.
“I can do the Macarena, can do the Nutbush but I think it’s going to be a bit more complex than that this time around,” he said.
He and his partner successfully completed their first rehearsal last week.
“I’m almost pretty much dead weight, she’s definitely the driving force but yeah, it’s heaps of fun,” Mr Speed said.
Raised at Bungowannah, Mr Speed attended school in Albury and then studied journalism in Wollongong before returning to his home region for work.
An aunt’s diagnosis of leukaemia in 2016 showed him firsthand the physical and mental impact of cancer on both the patient and the people around them.
The experience encouraged Mr Speed to join Stars of the Border.
“It’s always nice to give back to the community,” he said.
“If you were in a tough situation you’d like to think that other people would help you out.
“So I guess it comes back to that whole empathy side of things where obviously there’s other people who are doing it a bit tougher than you at the moment.”