Bega Valley community ambassador and athlete Dane Waites to star in short film showcasing unique achievements

The Bega Valley community has long been inspired by Dane, who has autism, especially after his superhuman achievement of running more than 4000km from Perth to Pambula in 2017 to raise awareness about the condition.

The film has been produced by Bega Tathra Safe Ride secretary Doug Reckord who said his relationship with Dane really took off after the two connected for a successful community litter reduction campaign - Give Dane a Clean Run.

Mr Reckord said Dane had been a fantastic ambassador since the campaign began in September 2021 and had been helping promote the idea of having cleaner roadsides in the region, on which he loves to run.

Dane has also become an advocate for the Bega to Tathra bike path campaign, which has long been petitioning for a path between the two towns for all people to be able to use, including anyone who might have mobility challenges.

Although Dane does run along the roadside, he has been advocating for safer pathways and was excited by the idea of having the ability to run all the way to Bega.

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"He's got an extraordinary ability, not just in running, perseverance, and in raising awareness about autism - but he can branch out into other areas that he sees in the community and it's a really nice thing to be associated with," Mr Reckord said.

"Dane has extraordinary abilities to reach out to people and get them to support things that he cares about."

It was that drive and determination that led Mr Reckord on the path to making the short film. He said he and Dane had spent the last few months visiting various places and recording prominent local people.

"Now I don't want to give too much away because plot spoilers, but we invited them to tell us what they think of Dane's abilities," said Mr Reckord.

"The lovely thing is that you just bring up Dane's name and ask 'can you do this' and people just go yeah! It's kind of the same thread of positive feeling that makes him a great spokesman for community endeavours."

Dane's mother Junee Waites said the short film would demonstrate her son's natural community-mindedness and his care for the environment.

"Dane sees the Bega Valley as his home, so keeping the Valley clean is like keeping his home clean," she said.

"We're amateurs making this short film and our aim is not to win the festival, but to create a short film that can be used throughout the community at different service clubs, schools, and hopefully at council. We also just hope to inspire people," said Ms Waites.

Mr Reckord said he had "dabbled" in iMovie, but he hoped the fact that it was "raw" and "amateurish" might give the film that extra appeal to the judging panel.

"Dane is certainly a good subject to work with, and everyone else has been very obliging," he said.

Mr Reckord said he would be hard at work on the computer over the next two weeks to finish putting the film together as festival entries close on July 29.

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