Tribute to Bob Marks and Karl Zalewski


25th February 2020

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie)—I wish to acknowledge Bob Marks and Karl Zalewski who have proven that good things can often come from heartbreaking tragedy. Last November, Simon Marks suffered a fatal heart attack while playing cricket for the Dora Creek Worker's Club's D2-grade team. While the incident brought great sadness to the local community, the team's vice-captain Karl Zalewski was motivated to make sure no other teammate would suffer the same fate. He set out to have a defibrillator installed at the club's home grown and at other sports grounds in the area.

When Karl's plea appeared in the local paper, the first to step up was Simon's father Bob and a few mates who all chipped in to provide the Dora Creek club with a $2500 defibrillator. While I acknowledge that the State Government is making a considerable effort to have defibrillators installed at sporting venues throughout NSW, this was a wonderful effort that will no doubt save lives. In addition to Karl and Bob, I also wish to acknowledge Bob Sainsbury, Russell Ware, Cenny Wagemaker and Bob Woods who chipped in for the machine. Great effort by some great people.

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