Profile - John Chambers

We will try and someone different to answer these three questions each week between now and the reunion, so keep coming back to check them out.
I have put my neck on the line and started the ball rolling myself.

What are your strongest memories of NSBHS?
Four things come straight to mind.
First is that I wasn't all that nice. I remember being a bit of arse and quite unpleasant to many people at times (sorry to all those who this might apply to, looking forward to saying sorry in person at the reunion).
Second I remember big games of sport in the playground. Huge cricket matches at lunchtime in the bottleyard, with Mugunthan bowling some nasty googlies to Damo. Or big packs of people flying for marks in an Aussie Rules kickoff on Keele St. Good Times
Third would be some of the teachers. Plunkett, Jurd, Lynch, Hunt, Stewart-Smith all come readily to mind.
Fourth was accidentally clocking Adrian Buddle with a full swing of a baseball bat while he was running at full pace in North Sydney Park - I still can't believe I didn;t kill him.
Summarise briefly your life since school
Took a year off and worked as a barista (I was before my time - that was 1988!!). The slowly worked through an economics degree at Macquarie uni, while working as a bartender, waiter or Maitre-D in establishments such as the Exchange Hotel in Balmain or the Royal Hotel in Paddington. Went to Europe with Nick Noble for about year circa 1992 - some fun times.
Stopped drinking ( I had had enough :-) after I go tback from that trip and then moved on to work as a Drug and Alcohol Worker and Half-Way House Manager at the Langton Clinic in Surry Hills through the mid nineties.
Married my wife Liz in 1996 (we actually met at Steps/Danceteria in 1988! I think I went to that place every Thursday night without fail for about 4 years!) Lots of NSBHS boys there, Duncan Young was best man.
Stumbled into IT roles at the South eastern Area Health Service and then into Syntegra (British Telecom) as an Account Manager for outsourced IT Service contracts (thanks Damien King for getting me that job!). Then moved from there into Project Director roles at Telstra (thanks again Damo).
Started having kids in the late nineties.
Moved into a variety strategy roles in Telstra and BigPond over the last 5 years.
18 months ago moved to Seaforth to get closer to the beach and plant a new Vineyard church (too hard to explain all the background to this, ask me at the reunion if you are interested). So today I am bi-vocational - 4 days at Telstra doing strategy and a day a week getting a new church up and running. Loving it.
Have kept in pretty good touch with Dunc, Damo, Loges, Pandrews, Wilso, Allard, Films, Puke, Bandrews etc since school, especially due to our annual cricket match aainst Aloysius which I am proud to tell you we won handsomely a few weeks back - special thanks to our ring in Rog Faulkner there. Also close to Geoff Lancaster and more recently see a lot of John Gray.
Who are the most important people in your life today?
Easy. My wife of 10 years Liz, my kids Josh (8), Ella (6) and Zoe (4) who are all at Balgowlah North Public School. See photo.