Paul Wickham and Greti Rieger have been bestowed with Life Membership awards in recognition of their outstanding contribution to Pearl Beach Progress Association over many years.
They received their awards together at the general meeting on February 1, as members say they are a great team and they never think of one without the other.
Their “exceptional” contribution has included technical management of the various events, concerts and activities undertaken by the association.
Wickham is a former roadie with excellent skills in sound and lighting and Rieger is always up a ladder adjusting the sound and lighting.
He was born and raised in Newcastle and as a teenager started work in The Woolstore while playing bass guitar in a garage band.
It wasn’t long before Wickham left for the bright lights of Sydney and worked as a roadie for a few moderately successful Aussie rock bands in the 70s, which is where he learned how to dazzle the crowd with sound and lights and the occasional pyrotechnics, almost setting alight the stage on Countdown once.
After a few years, the slog of the road and the glamour of showbiz wore off and Wickham decided to further his education.
And then he met Rieger who first hijacked him on a tour around the globe.
Upon returning to Australia in 1988, Wickham got serious and went into the Public Service, first to the Navy, then to SBS and finally the Department of Health where he remained until his retirement in 2010.
During this time he was always pursuing music, learning the saxophone and doing arts and science studies.
Rieger studied as a radiographer.
She always had an adventurous spirit and loved travel so it was inevitable that when she met Wickham they would travel the world together.
They continued their travels in Australia and Canada in recent years.
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