Life Isn’t Fair

Ian Mcdonald

Description

Living life with a physical disability from birth means a hard road ahead for anyone, but Ian McDonald has taken it all in his stride and through tough times and good, he has led what some people would describe as a relatively normal yet in some respects, extraordinary life despite his disability. This has seen him treated well by his family and friends, but who survived his school years being mercilessly bullied by other children. As his life has gone on, he’s come up against discrimination in the workplace, discrimination by potential and actual employers, been sacked from his “job of a lifetime” for being too good at it and through all this has had some unbelievable successes along the way. Ian’s life is a rich tapestry of good and bad, but all through it we can see his ability to keep a smile on his face and shrug off the bad times shines through. With a wide variety on his resume.

Sujets

• Biography
• Autobiography

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris NZ
• Date de parution: 15 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669880608
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Life Isn’t Fair
 
 
 
but I’ll have a bloody good crack at it
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ian McDonald
 
Copyright © 2023 by Ian McDonald.
 
Library of Congress Control Number:
2023909131
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6698-8062-2
 
Softcover
978-1-6698-8061-5
 
eBook
978-1-6698-8060-8
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
Rev. date: 05/31/2023
 
 
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
NZ TFN: 0800 008 756 (Toll Free inside the NZ)
NZ Local: 9-801 1905 ([phone] from outside New Zealand)
www.Xlibris.co.nz
852899
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Huge thanks to Jason Pine and my brother Trevor for their amazing editing skills, my two sisters Heather & Elaine and of course my rock and my strength, my wife Michelle.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Prologue
Introduction
 
Chapter 1       “Here I Am”
Chapter 2       “Moving Up and Away”
Chapter 3       A New Year, A New School
Chapter 4       Bullying and How It Helped Me Grow
Chapter 5       Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It’s Off to Work I Go
Chapter 6       Trevor on Ian
Chapter 7       Treading the Boards and Being on the Tele
Chapter 8       Moving On to the Oil Industry
Chapter 9       My Ever-Changing Body and Mobility
Chapter 10     UK with a Rabbit and a Mole Part 1
Chapter 11     UK with a Rabbit and a Mole Part 2
Chapter 12     Heather on Ian
Chapter 13     Broadcasting
Chapter 14     Nobody Takes Me Seriously Anyway! Oh No, You Couldn’t Do This with Your Disability
Chapter 15     Oz
Chapter 16     Elaine on Ian
Chapter 17     Sport and the Effect It Has Had on My Life
Chapter 18     Optus, Bell South, Vodafone, Telstra, Telstra Clear, First Mobile – My Love Affair with Telecommunications
Chapter 19     Family Life
Chapter 20     It’s All about the Red, White, and Blue
Chapter 21     Fonterra and Finding Love at 41
Chapter 22     Michelle on Ian
Chapter 23     Going Back to School
Chapter 24     Rugby, Backyard Golf, and Disability Sport
Chapter 25     Hip Operation Goes Sideways
Chapter 26     Michelle’s Life Changes as a Full-Time Carer
Chapter 27     Baseball NZ – The Good
Chapter 28     Baseball NZ – The Bad
Chapter 29     Baseball NZ – The Ugly
Chapter 30     An Adventure into Major League Baseball
Chapter 31     Small-Town Motels Beckon
Chapter 32     How Sport is Run in New Zealand
Chapter 33     Moving Forward and Final Thoughts
 
Appendices
FOREWORD
by Peter Elliott, ONZM
I N 50 YEARS of working life, I have met a lot of people, many of whom I’ve forgotten. Occasionally, people appear in your life as though you’ve always known them though. The sight of them makes you smile, and time in their company is always memorable. They stick.
Ian McDonald is one of them.
I started out doing labour for pennies in a polystyrene factory, and for years, I didn’t believe I was particularly worth anything. I’d had 50 jobs before I finally found my calling and became an actor, and my real education and life began. As a natural introvert, this didn’t come easily. I had nerves every night of my working life. Stepping onstage nightly with stage fright slowly made me realise that under my fear, there was a backbone, and with use, it became stronger.
It was my great fortune to be introduced to baseball in NZ by my then nine-year-old son.
“Dad, I want to play baseball.”
“Oh, Joss, so did I, buddy, at your age, and older too. I ended up playing cricket.”
“No, Dad, I want to play baseball.”
“Yeah, bud, we don’t play it in this country. I wish we did.”
“We do play it, Dad! The New Zealand under-15s are playing Guam in the Oceania Series today. It’s in the paper!”
How my primary school-going son knew this, I’ve never asked, but we went to Lloyd Elsmore Park and watched NZ “pone” the Guam team, as he described it. We became involved with the Central City team from that moment on, and I ended up as VP because I was foolish enough to go to an AGM to see what it was all about. Cathy Trudeau, a vibrant Canadian gal with a promising player for a son, was running the club and having a tough time with a hardened old crew of association club managers and coaches, who acted a bit like they were stuck in 1958. I stood up for her, and she rewarded my gallantry by throwing me under the bus, insisting I stand for the Board of Baseball New Zealand. She needed a friend there.
And that’s where I met some of the most passionate, hardworking, and philanthropic people I’ve ever had the privilege to work alongside. Ryan Flynn was CEO of Baseball NZ and the captivating motivator, a fast-talking American with a blazing heart for New Zealand and a fierce exponent of baseball as a pathway to education and greatness for our Kiwi kids. Alongside him and doing the jobs of managing teams, rosters, gear, meetings, flights, coaches, well-being, and endless daily tasks to get kids to offshore and onshore venues, was the redoubtable Pandy Fruean.
And alongside them, running the marketing, communications, customer service, relationship management, social media, radio and television connections, and general administration was a small figure of a man, mostly wheelchair-bound, with a beaming smile, a left-handed shake, and a heart of genuine, sincere love for the sport and for his fellow man.
Ian McDonald came into my life, and immediately, it felt like I had known him for decades. His knowledge of MLB, the global baseball scene, and the local franchises was encyclopaedic. He was everywhere—at every local game, wending his way quietly alongside, when a quiet joke would announce his presence. When it came to getting information, Ian was your man. He had a fascination for every sport, but baseball was his raison d’être.
He has held a myriad of positions in the sporting world of NZ, from early days as club captain with Raumati Hearts and Paraparaumu Cricket Club to manager of representative teams. He has held chair and secretary positions at Mount Albert-Ponsonby AFC and sat on the board of West City Baseball before his tenure with Baseball NZ. Ian has achieved remarkably in his life, never for a moment allowing any hint of disability to hold back his extraordinary capability.
He gained the first of his many qualifications in 1992 with a certificate in broadcast communications from the broadcasting school in Christchurch, while completing an internship at Radio NZ Sport. Ian then worked at Radio New Zealand as a news and sports jock for 4 years, between 1992 and 1996. His interest in communications continued with appointments at Optus in Melbourne, then back in NZ at Bell-South, Telstra Clear, and First Mobile Corporate. His corporate ability was realised more strongly between 2004 and 2008, when he was appointed senior support and business support analyst for Fonterra.
Ian’s acumen and passion for the sporting world then led him to hone his ideas and talents with higher education at Unitec in 2009. Once again, Ian stood out as a leader, winning the prestigious Academic Excellence Award in 2009 as he worked to gain his degree in sports management. His studies were again encyclopaedic, including culture, marketing, strategic management, events, team leadership, facilities management, coaching, anatomy, physiology, and psychology. During this period of study, he also undertook a project on behalf of the NZ Rugby Players Association, researching and collating data from retired players from the period of professionalism starting in 1996.
On graduating, Ian’s academic ability was in demand, and he was snatched up by the Halberg Trust in 2010 as their sport opportunity adviser plus communications and events assistant. Ian’s input during this time centred on imparting information and helping the public understand the trust’s role in assisting disabled people in everyday sport and recreation.
Of course, this is something he himself shone at and continues to do every day of his life.
At Halberg, Ian managed their website, utilised social media, and prepared print media for release. He wrote strategic communication plans and coordinated travel and accommodation for guests, trustees, and visitors alike. He assisted in organising the annual Halberg Awards and Dinner and reached out to clubs, organisations, and sports groups to create opportunities for disabled youth to participate alongside able-bodied peers. His energy and focus were legendary and noticed in other sports circles.
In 2012, Ian was offered a position with Baseball New Zealand, utilising all his expertise, knowledge, and abilities to grow the sport in New Zealand. He took on the role of communications/operations advisor like a duck to water, and it was in this capacity I first met the man. It was a match made in heaven, and Ian’s education and passion for the sport shone like a diamond. However, it was not an easy ride. Baseball was fighting to be accepted as a spor