SNOWY Hydro SouthCare’s Women in Business Lunch is an annual event  where there’s some fundraising of the “experiential” kind, meaning eating, walking, painting and canoeing packages, a significant raffle and fine food and wine.

There’s always a story from someone who has been a recipient of the expert care of the Snowy Hydro SouthCare team, with this year Virginia Berger’s “aortic dissection” emergency occurring while she was painting her toenails. It felt like she’d been stabbed in the neck and the pain started to move down her body. Luckily, her neighbour was home to take her to hospital and after diagnosis she was off in the chopper to Royal North Shore Hospital.

It was almost enough to turn us off our lunch, but Virginia is alive and well, and still paints her toenails.

Kate Lundy and Kate Carnell went back to their 16-year-old selves to tell us of the choices they made and why, judge the best and worst of themselves and divulge a few secrets. Virginia Haussegger was probing and eliciting some gems.

For the Snowy Hydro SouthCare team, with new CEO Chris Kimball at the helm, it was a winning combination of indulgence, stories and salutary lessons in life.