NATIONAL CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE SHOW

Telstra Pacific Events Centre at Manukau in Auckland, New Zealand was the perfect venue for the Rotary Club of Papakura’s inaugural National Classic Motorcycle Show of bikes from vintage to 1992.  On August 4-5 over 250 bikes, 12 motorcycle clubs and 27 trade exhibitors were exposed to 3,200 visitors.

Planning for the show started two years before.  The project started formally when the principle gold sponsor, Star Motorcycle Insurance, was secured. The next steps involved: obtaining secondary and tertiary sponsorship; securing support commitments from various motorcycle clubs; securing a joint venture partner for NZ Classic Bike of the Year; securing the venue; defining logistics for the show weekend; and judging. 

Businesses that could offer support in kind (but not financially) were targeted as secondary silver sponsors. These included a printer to produce all necessary point of sale material and signs, and Fairfax media promotion through community newspapers. There were seven such sponsors in total.

Bronze sponsors were companies that wanted to be involved at the show.  These ranged from Honda NZ to a leather repair machinist.

Being the first Classic Show to be held in Auckland for many years, potential trade and motorcycle exhibitors were sceptical and held back until the last minute. Very difficult trading conditions forced several trade exhibitors to withdraw in the last month, and this placed real pressure on prizes and prize money.

In total there were 27 sponsors contributing some $42,000 towards the show. This allowed the show to open to the public, needing only $9,000 to break even. This equated to only 600 people at $15 through the gate, and this was met by midday on Saturday.

NZ Classic Bike of the Year was a joint venture with Bikerider Magazine in an attempt to leverage their commitment and marketing to promote the show. 12 finalists were selected by Bikerider Magazine, and these finalists were voted for by spectators following gold coin donations.  This raised a further $1,000 for the National Burns Unit. 

Two Rotary International Youth Exchange students also collected for the Burns Unit and raised another $800 by simply asking for donations!

A professional photographic studio was on site.  One Rotarian’s family of eight ran this stand over the weekend, primarily to take photos of the winning bikes, plus they sold their services to other bike owners and raised a further $400. 

There were 20 categories and 3 prize winners for each category, so 60 prizes were awarded. Each winner received a goody bag with various prizes and a framed photo of their bike sporting its winning rosette. First place winners also received an individually printed acrylic trophy.

The general consensus was that the show was very well put together and well run by the Papakura Rotary which had virtually a 100% turnout of its members and partners. In-house catering was done by many of the partners and appreciated by all concerned. 

Since the show, the organisers have received offers of commitment for trade stands and more very special bikes for next year.

Any Rotary club interested in replicating this show outside of Auckland can contact Papakura President Graham Viall via g.viall@harcourts.co.nz.

GETTING DIRTY FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Rotarians are always willing to get their hands dirty to help a good cause, but this year Rotary Club of Drury Secretary Trish Hayward decided to take it to the extreme!
With the generous support of her fellow Rotarians, Trish competed in the Bergen Tough Guy ‘n’ Gal Challenge on July 8 to raise money for the SPCA. This challenge is a six kilometre Army-style assault course colloquially known as the Mud Run – and for good reason.

Trish splashing through the mud in the Challenge

It’s a fun run held over the boggiest terrain to be found at Helensville’s Woodhill Sands Equestrian Centre, north of Auckland, New Zealand. Slogging through thigh-deep swamps, scrambling up muddy slopes, crawling under barbed wire and traversing natural and man-made obstacles were all part of the fun.

The Rotary Club of Drury, friends and family supported Trish’s effort, and raised $735 out of an overall team total of $18,721 for the animal welfare charity. SPCA Fundraising Coordinator Catherine Davies said “this is an incredible result and we are very grateful to all involved.”

Trish’s training for the event consisted of runs through bush trails in the Hunua Ranges, with her willing Labrador companion Eric making sure that there was no slacking. It was hard work being out in the winter weather sometimes, and she returned from one training run soaked to the skin from a sudden downpour.

Fortunately when Challenge day dawned, the skies were blue.  Trish had a lot of fun despite getting covered in mud and ending up pretty stiff and sore the next day!

She was proud to help support the SPCA, and grateful for the generosity of her fellow Rotarians in making her efforts worthwhile.

Good nutrition thanks to Rotary

The annual produce collect by the members of the Rotary Club of Drury Inc is truly inspiring, truly Rotary in Action.

This day involved members of the Club collecting produce from the local growers of the Franlin area from as early as 8am and delivering these nutritional goods to the Salvation Army Collection Depot at Manukau that same afternoon.

This charitable event has been on the Drury clubs agenda for the past 10 years. It was a true example of Rotary In Action.    The fresh produce consisted of; potatoes, cabbages, carrots, garlic, parsley, onion, tomatoes, cauliflower,  in fact any vegetable you can imagine with the exception of pumpkins were on the trucks over 12 tons of it! From there the produce was then distributed all over Auckland, adding to a healthy Christmas meal for many.

The Rotary Club of Drury should feel extremely proud of their efforts and the fact that they helped so many people over the Christmas period.