Last year I had the privilege of meeting someone who had written one of the most influential reports on violence that I have quoted in all of my funding bids, presentations and general discussion. Dr Clare McVeigh was well known as a name to me but when the opportunity came to meet her I must say I was more excited by the prospect of meeting her than of any celebrity. A very interesting lady who, due to shared interests we could talk for hours on end. Clare kindly spoke at the launch of our 3D film and it was truly an honour to have her there.

This year I have had the privilege of talking with Dr Alexander Butchart, coordinator of violence prevention in the World Health Organisation, and Dr Jonathan Shepherd from Cardiff University who has written several papers on violence prevention over the years. Meeting these people was to me like meeting A lister's. I was nervous about initial contact over the phone and worried about sounding out of my depth or becoming tongue tied but because we share such similar interests in violence prevention the conversation seemed to flow. Dr Burchart also introduced me to another well know person who has written many reports on violence prevention called Professor Mark Bellis.

Speaking to Alex in Geneva (over the phone sadly) was like speaking with an ultimate idol. I am striving to get SAV recognised as a leading organisation and particularly I would like to get involved with the World Health Organisation who work so tirelessly on violence prevention. They seem so out of reach and out of our league, so to speak to Alex was a real milestone especially when he said he would add me to the list of invitees to the next World Health Organisation violence prevention conference in North America! I just hope that 2015 sees some good financial results as it would be an extraordinary experience and international networking opportunity for me and SAV.

During my preparation for our own conference next year I was humbled by  Dr Shepherds offer (after only 30 minutes on the phone) to attend as a speaker and be on the panel. He seems genuinely interested in helping and its a real honour to be in contact.

So after meeting and speaking with celebrities from different backgrounds I have to say that those I was most excited, nervous and humbled to meet were the aforementioned individuals. I would take meeting them over an A-lister any day! True legends in my eyes.