FROM TRIVIA NIGHTS
WHANGAREI , NEW ZEALAND
Community collaboration reached new highs with Ray White Whangarei and Tutukaka helping more than 45 local people / groups with $ 42,000 in funding .
Our Whangarei and Tutukaka teams set up the We Can Help With That fund in 2019 with a vision to create a community of active people , resilient communities and sustainable environments through supporting projects that focus on people , participation and places .
The funding comes directly from the team members who set aside a percentage from every property sale and lease . Ray White Whangarei director John Monteith said the decisions on allocating funds was always challenging but it was an inspiring process to be part of .
TO COOKING CLASSES
RINGWOOD , VICTORIA
What would a Melbourne lockdown be without a cooking class from Ray White Ringwood ’ s director Chris Watson ?
The menu varies from carbonara pasta to steak and veggies but no matter what ’ s for dinner it ’ s always Michelin star worthy . Chris said his cooking sessions aimed at keeping things fun for his team . The agent turned five star amateur chef sends out the ingredients a few days before and then the team jumps on a Zoom call to cook together .
“ I try to lighten the team ’ s lockdown by keeping it fun and not taking things too seriously and I also love any excuse to get my chef ’ s costume out ,” he said .
I love any excuse to get my chef ’ s costume out .
In September we said ‘ goodbye ’ to Adam Downes as Ray White Group Head of Performance and welcomed him officially as a business owner in the group . Adam , who has worked for the White family group for the last eight years , made the decision to jump back on the tools , taking over the reins at Ray White Ashgrove in Brisbane .
An experienced auctioneer , and with years of coaching hundreds of businesses and agents across Australia and New Zealand , from the very best to the newest rookies , we expect great things to come from Adam and his team at Ray White Ashgrove .
As lead innovator of the Pulse platform , Adam ’ s days of testing new features behind the scenes may be in the past , but we have no doubt that he ’ ll be checking the app just as much as he was before .
ADAM DOWNES MOVES INTO OWNERSHIP
KINCUMBER , NSW
Nicole Doerksen ( pictured in the middle ) from Ray White Kincumber is a volunteer at heart . She ’ s been helping struggling parents in her community with a free webinar featuring Nikki Smith , a registered nurse and author of Gentle Parenting .
The Kincumber local has also organised trivia nights for those looking for a bit of virtual game night fun with a prize made up of local business vouchers and merchandise . Nicole , who joined Ray White 11 months ago , has always had a passion for volunteering . She said people need to feel connected , as it ’ s so important for humans .
At the Kincumber Neighbourhood Centre - staff Collette and LeeAnne - presented Nicole with the Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award for the Central Coast recently for her volunteer work .
BREAM BAY , NEW ZEALAND
Lockdown didn ’ t crush the dreams of vendors Emma and Jae , and their children , at 20 Mamaku Drive , One Tree Point , who sold their home recently .
When Ray White Bream Bay salesperson James Alexander couldn ’ t get the sold sticker to the property due to Level 4 restrictions , the vendors ’
children , Harper and Harry ( pictured right ), took matters into their own hands .
“ We couldn ’ t get the sold sticker to the location , so I told the vendors I ’ d have to drop it off when COVID levels permitted , but Emma said the kids were so excited , they made their own .
I thought it was such a lovely feel-good thing at this time . The kids were just so stoked they could now plan to move onto their new dream home with their family . I was just determined not to let the curtain close and let COVID rain on their parade !”
CARNEGIE , VIC
Lockdown didn ’ t stop the Ray White Carnegie team from raising money for the Royal Children ’ s Hospital . The annual Run for the Kids was cancelled but the team still made an effort to clock some kilometres . Between them , they raised almost $ 3000 for the hospital and totalled 100kms .
Partner Josh Hommelhoff and his family ( pictured ) hit the streets recently completing a
10km walk within their surrounding suburbs . The fundraiser was near to the hearts of many in the office but Josh was particularly grateful for the opportunity to support the hospital after his second child Teddy needed open-heart surgery when he was only four weeks old .
“ I have always supported the Royal Children ’ s Hospital but never thought in my wildest dreams that we would need their support .”
“ Now 17-month old Teddy is back to full health and we ’ ll continue to support the hospital to help other families .”
SWAN HILL , VIC
Ray White Swan Hill principal Cameron Smits ’ recently conducted a beautiful random act of kindness . The business owner recently checked in with his friend and local cafe owner Rebecca Hart as she faced a nervous wait to see if lockdown would be extended back in July .
“ She had catering lined up for the weekend that would have to be thrown out , so I said to her ‘ what if Ray White bought it off you ?” Cameron said .
The pair later decided to split the costs and put the food into hampers to go around and deliver to frontline workers . The pair delivered hampers to the police station , hospital , ambulance station and both chemists .
“ Everyone was grateful and excited to get their morning tea . Our message to them during our chats was if they could start to pay it forward too .
Real estate has had its own challenges in the past 12 months but nowhere as affected as cafes , restaurants and motels .”
AROUND THE GROUNDS
TWO TRUTHS AND ONE LIE
The Ray White Lower North Shore Group have certainly mixed up their Friday afternoon team zoom call with ‘ two truths and a lie ’. Anthony Cowie , Director of their Cammeray Office did not hold back ... we ’ ll leave you to guess which one of these three stories is a lie .
1 . I managed a private event for Justin Timberlake who threw a party for his staff to launch their Australian tour . Half way through the night , his friends The Black Eyed Peas , turned up to join in . Along with three of our staff and four of his , we drank shots of Jack Daniels with Justin until 3am . 2 . I was the restaurant manager for an exclusive lunch .
Among the 21 guests were Vladimir Putin , George Bush Jnr , Shinzo Abe and Hu Jintao . George Bush later came to thank the team and suggested we fly back to the US and have a party on Air Force One .
3 . In 2006 , along with five mates , I discovered a shipwreck off the New South Wales south coast which sank in 1916 . After reporting it to the MCA they subsequently hired marine archaeologists to confirm its identity and mark it as a historical site . I later found out that several divers got the GPS marks and subsequently stripped its cargo , which they managed to sell for $ 2,300,000 .
The first person to email us at media @ raywhite . com with the correct answer will win a $ 100 voucher to spend at the Ray White Shop . And go !
THAT ’ S A WRAP
If you have any feedback about the new-look quarterly White Report or any community news items you ’ d like to contribute for the next edition please get in contact with your Ray White Media team . The next edition will be out at the end of December .
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THE WHITE REPORT | 04