2017 Heads Hotel Annual Charity Day

 

The 2017 Monster Charity day was held Saturday, 7th January, 2017 at the Heads Hotel overlooking the Shoalhaven River on what turned out to be a perfect Summers Day.

All charities were represented on the day including the Shoalhaven Head’s Rural Fire Brigade, the Shoalhaven Heads Surf Life-Saving Club (SLSC), the Shoalhaven Marine Rescue and Shoalhaven Apex’s ‘The Shack’ – all helping out by selling tickets for all our raffles, and informing the public on how important it is to have these volunteers to keep our beaches safe, our homes safe from fires and our fisherman safe at sea.

Special mention was made to the remaining members who started our Charity Day and that this was the 30 year anniversary, it started in 1987 when all proceeds went to Camp Quality.

The Raffle Prizes included a 4.2m BlueFin Boat with trailer, motors and safety equipment, a 2-3 person Kayak, a gas BBQ suitable for an outdoor kitchen and an ‘Instant Party’ being meat from Mountain Side Meats and beer from The Heads Hotel.

The Apex volunteers were kept busy all day in the BBQ area cooking from lunch well into the evening.

Local identity Adam Straney kept us amused, and on the ball, with his auctioneering and MC skills for the day with the assistance of John ‘Nello’ and other fishing club members keeping the auction items rolling along at a brisk pace.

Local musicians Ricky Lynch, Holly and some other very talented colleagues entertained the crowd between auctions.

We had the ‘Chocolate Wheel’ running hot, with Prawn and Seafood Trays on offer as well as some of the local business donations contributed to the Charity Day fare. Thank you to everyone who pitched in with the ticket sales.

A team of Fishing Club Committee, members and non-members volunteers were kept busy all day helping out wherever they were needed. A special thanks to Kim who collected everyone’s coins in a bucket at the end of the day raising a further $326.00 in loose change.

 The Winners of the raffle were:-

1st prize – 4.2 m BlueFin Boat – ticket 1218 Darrin Bull

2nd prize – 2-3 person Kayak – ticket 6195 Daniel Richards (KEG)

3rd prize – Gas Barbeque – ticket 4262 S Lewis

4th prize – Keg of Beer and $200.00 meat voucher – ticket 9207 J Stephenson

 

In the spirit of the day ‘Keg’ donated the kayak back as the last auction item and raised another $2000 for the charities. The generosity of Keg and many like him are what makes these days such a success.

A big thank you goes to:

  • Companies and Individuals that donated items for our auction and equipment for the day.
  • BnS Party Supplies for supplying the Amusement rides.
  • Shoalhaven Marine Rescue who had their rescue vessels out at the Heads and took children and their parents on rides up the River
  • APEX for their quality BBQ skills as usual
  • The Heads Pre-School for running the kiddies corner with games, tattoos, cupcakes etc.
  • The Shoalhaven Heads Surf Club for the use of their bus and assistance writing raffle tickets
  • The Shoalhaven Heads Rural Fire Service who brought their trucks and staff along to help out on the day, as well as the Shoalhaven Heads Surf Lifesaving Club and its members for also lending a hand.
  • NSW Police who brought out a highway car and ‘caged vehicle’ for the kids to go through and see how the police do their job. An extra thank you to them for their time, during their busiest time of year.
  • DPI – Recreational Fishing NSW who brought out their information trailer with a couple of their experts on what fisheries are doing in our area, catch and release methods and information packs, general fishing rules and regulations and information on sustainable recreational fishing. Unfortunately no definitive information on when and where the fish are biting.

A crowd of around one thousand attended the day and kept the bar staff busy – including the XXXX Gold Bar out on the deck.Everyone acknowledged the community spirit of the day, and a big thank you to all who attended and put their hands in their pockets to donate.

A great day was had by all and I must thank all the members and staff of the Heads Hotel and Fishing Club for volunteering their services on the day and in the months leading up to the event – Also to Michelle Nellestein for her assistance in running this event that is growing from strength to strength each year, and to Colin Waller for providing the venue each year.

We raised $31,294.00 for our local charities – with the total over the past 17 years now exceeding $431,000 – A great job by all, highlighting a generous community coming together at ‘the local’ in Shoalhaven Heads.

Sharon Shedden

Heads Hotel Fishing Club President

Heads Hotel Fishing Club