July 2018
 

John Spence	David Mann

'Privileged to have them in family'

Victoria industry leaders recognised in honours

TWO leading figures in Victoria’s caravan industry were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Chairman of Prestige Jayco John Spence received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) while David Mann, the industry's radio voice, became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Both have a long association with the Caravan Industry Association of Victoria (CIA VIC), the peak body for Victoria’s caravan industry.

Mr Spence has built one of Victoria's biggest caravan retailers over the past 30 years, but his award was for service to the Geelong community.

Described as a "quiet achiever", he has sponsored many community groups, especially in children's sport and in opposing family violence.

He sees sport as a great part of a child's life and has sought to make it easy for parents to afford the cost of sport, from basketball and baseball to football, netball and golf.

He also supports the Partnership for Violence Free Families and the Father Bob Maguire Foundation.

Mr Mann received his AM for service to the community of Victoria, particularly through charitable organisations, to business and to the promotions and marketing sector.

CIA VIC chief executive Rob Lucas said the caravan industry was fortunate to have people of the calibre of the pair as part of its extended family.

"It is a privilege to have members such as John who make such valuable contributions to their communities, and to have allies such as David to promote our cause," he said.

"John has been a highly regarded member for 30 years, and David has become Victoria's voice of caravanning, not least through his Mann About Town segments on 3AW.

"This year David connected CIA VIC with Entertainment Assist, which he chairs, and we are proud to support its work to promote mental health in the entertainment industry."