December 2009 (pdf) - Port Nelson

Port Nelson Limited report. December 2009. Page 4
supPORTing our region
Charity Golf
It was a big day out for colleagues in our industry when we
played our annual Nelson Port and Transport Industry Charity Golf
Tournament on November 19 at the Nelson Golf Club. There was a
great turnout from shipping lines, agents, stevedores, logistics and
transport sectors; some great golf was played and the 19th hole
was particularly convivial! It is the second year that the Port Nelson
Mission to Seafarers has been the selected charity to benefit from
this event.
The money raised this year will go in the bank, added to the $12,000
the tournament raised last year. This gives the Mission a tidy capital
sum that is generating enough interest to cover everyday running
costs. Manager, Milo Coldren and his team of volunteers have made
the Nelson Mission one of the best in the world, with free coffee,
biscuits and internet access.
Over the last five years these tournaments have raised in excess of
$42,000 for local charities.
Darryl Hamilton takes a drive for the Hamburg Sud team, watched by Simon Edwards,
Peter Anderson and Matthew Hewitt.
Jazz in the Parks
It’s summer and that means it’s time for the Woollaston Nelson Jazz
& Blues Festival – or it will be, come the New Year. We are pleased
to be backing Port Nelson Jazz & Blues in the Parks, with a regional
spread from Fairfield Park to the Village Green in Takaka. Expect
to see some hot acts in these concerts, with some of the foremost
musicians in their fields from New Zealand, the States and the UK.
In the Woods
We were pleased to assist with
support of the annual Forest &
Wood Conference, held this year
in Nelson at Seifrieds Vineyards.
It was an opportunity for our
staff to catch up with many
of the movers and shakers in
the industry from around New
Zealand and even further afield.
As nearly half of our total cargo
tonnage is forestry product, this sector is extremely important to
Port Nelson now and into the future, and it was very encouraging
to see the conference reflecting increasing co-ordination across the
sector in both processing and forestry.
The focus was on global trends, the current trading environment
and the challenges and opportunities this presents. There was also
a field day of visits to Nelson forests and tours, including four buses
of visitors to Port Nelson.
Rags to Riches
Upper Moutere’s Sunrise Cleaning Services won the Port Nelson
Large Business Award and the Westpac Supreme Award at this year’s
Westpac Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce Awards. Bruce Farley
and his wife Phillipa Rutherford are joint owners of Sunrise Cleaning
Services and of the Chandrakirti Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre
in Upper Moutere. Sunrise Cleaning is a rags-to-riches story, with
Bruce having gone from being a one man business with his home
vacuum cleaner, to employing 110 staff and servicing 80 commercial
clients including many of the region's largest companies. The
awards are the biggest event in the region's business calendar and
provide a real incentive for
business excellence from the
emerging level upwards.
Rod Fox and Dot Kettle from
the Nelson Tasman Chamber
of Commerce flank Phillipa
Rutherford and Bruce Farley
from Sunrise Cleaning and
Digby Kynaston representing
Port Nelson.
Parade
‘best ever’
The Port Nelson Masked Parade that launched the Nelson Arts
Festival in October was a triumph of creativity and optimism,
forging ahead amidst wet weather into a sunny evening where
Nelson was at its best – children shone, music played and
people danced in the street. The parade this year was a
tribute to its founder Kim Merry, who died in August. Festival
creative director Annabel Norman said the parade was a
fitting commemoration to Kim and the value he placed on the
community celebrating together.
“Thanks to the support of Port Nelson Limited, and the schools
and other groups who put in so much effort it was a wonderful
tribute and showed the special legacy Kim has left us: Nelson
has an event with a unique spirit – something money just
can’t buy.” Record crowds attended the parade and stayed on
afterwards to dance in the streets at the carnivale.
Safety and Training Officer Jim Lane
speaks to the conference delgates as they
visit our timber storage and packing area.
Photo: Harold Mason