Lui Polimeni and one of Jenny Polimeni’s beautiful paintings titled, ‘Character with a mullet.’
Members from the Gundagai, Jugiong and Harden-Murrumburrah communities would get together each year at the Jugiong Motel to celebrate Lui Polimeni’s birthday on October 1. Lui was entrenched in all three communities playing Rugby League for the Gundagai Tigers and Harden Hawks and Touch Football for the Jugiong Jackasses in the Harden Touch Football competition. He was known across the district.
Lui tragically passed away in 2016.
This year, mum Jenny Polimeni is inspired to celebrate his 20th in a different way, which is, an art exhibition at the Jugiong Hall to raise more than $20,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charity in Canberra.
On Thursday, Jenny will begin hanging paintings of her own, an activity she picked up during the incredibly difficult past few years of mourning.
A series of 20 artworks will each have a price tag and a card story to it, the paintings themed around Lui’s personality.
She said each artwork over the years has been an outlet and a “grief journey” for her.
Local footy club Gundagai Tigers have generously kick-started the donations with a tremendous $10,000 effort. The Tigers had a stellar season in 2020 and took out the First Grade Premiership and the Reserve Grade Premiership while their Sullivan Cup side made it to the Grand Final to be beaten by Junee.
Besides the paintings with a price tag, there will be an additional three paintings on offer via a silent auction.
The first one is titled “character with a mullet”, which represents Lui’s love for his mullet.
It was this piece that Jenny was her to go forward with an art exhibition and raise funds for a good cause.
The second piece is titled “friends over the hill”, a painting over the Jugiong Hill, a symbolism of the great community support and help the
Polimenis received over the last few years.
The third piece is called “Colin the cow”, it’s a charcoal drawing of Lui’s beloved young calf.
The opening for the exhibition will begin tomorrow night from 6 to 8pm with finger food.
Patrons can further support the cause by purchasing raffle tickets for three more paintings for the Saturday 10am to 3pm prize draw.
Jenny joked that, if all 20 paintings on display sell out by the Friday night, the community will then be left with tea and coffee and the raffle draw on the Saturday.
“People have all been completely behind me and I am glad to know that I have such huge support,” she said.
“At the Jugiong Motel each time after work, when I walk through the doors, there will be people giving me money for a raffle ticket.”
“I also want to say a huge thank you to the Tigers as well as the Harden community. In 2017, $10,000 was raised by both the Harden junior and senior league team.”
In 2016, Lui suffered a serious head injury in a game for the Tigers, and was airlifted and admitted to ICU at the Canberra Hospital.
The hospital houses family rooms from the Ronald McDonald House Charities foundation, for families to recuperate after long hours of being bedside.
This space is eligible to all families whose children are undergoing treatment at the hospital and comes at no cost, due to generous donations from the wider community.
There are a total of 18 Ronald McDonald Houses nationally, and its mission is to “support the ever-changing needs of
seriously ill children and their families”, as well as to “achieve the best outcome for families by reducing the impact of their child’s serious illness”.
Jenny said the House brought back many mixed memories for her, but it was the generosity and sensitivity the House
provided during the family’s most difficult time, a reason why she wants to give back.
“Each time we walked through the Ronald McDonald House’s big red door, we felt like we were walking into a big heart.
“I felt very passionately about the work they do, and they never asked us for a cent ever.
“When we found out the bad news, they set us up with a room in the House.”
Since Lui’s passing, a lady who worked at the House in 2016 named Liz Snyder,
consistently travels down to Jugiong and pays her respects to Lui at the cemetery.
Be sure to come down to Jugiong Hall on Friday night or Saturday to support the Polimenis.
Christopher Tan