In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand In Gear - Issue 3 | Page 39

Today, as well as boasting a healthy membership, the
club also enjoys a high, and positive, profile within its
community. breakfast, overseeing retail at the biennial three-day
Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow, and
catering at the two-day Wanaka A & P Show.
Members put a priority on staying in touch and in the
public eye through everything from selling food at
community events, to showcasing ShelterBoxes and
Emergency Response Kits at the Wanaka Home and
Garden Show. “Many of our fundraisers involve food and, without
chef Clayton Hope and his fantastic catering
management skills, I’m sure we wouldn’t be nearly as
successful in these endeavours. One of our younger
members is also a chef, and he’s now taking the lead
in some areas, so it’s great to have such skill sets on
hand,” Margaret says
“We also publish news about the club at least
monthly, ensure we have media at all fundraising
events, send a steady stream of photos and articles
to the local print media and maintain a current
Facebook page, as well as promoting ourselves
through online media like the Wanaka App.”
The club’s fundraising calendar has three major
fixtures: catering for the Challenge Wanaka athletes’
“To make these fundraisers successful, we make sure
we have good leaders running the different aspects
of the work required. Members and families are
incredibly generous with their time, and we wouldn’t
succeed or still be doing these fundraisers if it wasn’t
for the extra volunteers who answer our call.”
Feeding the masses a fundraising winner
A chance query has seen the Rotary Club
of Wanaka pool its talents and resources
during the past decade to become the
caterer of choice to several major events – a
fundraising venture that’s proved lucrative,
a ‘win-win’ for the local community and a
barrel of fun to boot.
Organisers of the World Air Games, held in the town
back in 2007, contacted the club in the lead-up to ask
whether the Rotarians were interested in catering.
By chance, former chef Clayton Hope was on the
fundraising committee at the time the approach was
made, and immediately saw the potential.
“Up until that stage, we’d just been cooking in our
chip van at events, but the profits were getting
smaller, and the risk was getting bigger because we
ns.
Wanaka Rotaria
Food glorious food
Fun times with
were completely reliant on sales and who turned
up,” he says.
“I could see this style of higher-end catering was
a better way to make more out of our fundraising
efforts, and with way less risk.”
So, with Clayton, who’s worked in the food industry
for nearly 25 years, leading the charge, the Wanaka
club accepted the challenge, catering at the Games
for more than 300 at breakfast, morning tea, lunch
and dinner over the three-day event.
At $20,000, the return, he says, was great, and the
response just as impressive – including an invitation
to cook for 1000-plus at Challenge Wanaka’s post-
event breakfast.
Today, the old chip van is but a distant memory
for the Wanaka Rotarians, who tantalise the
Page 39