Hard to swallow

Four brave staff from PlaceMakers Mt Wellington faced their fears this Blue September and were rewarded with a ‘Hard as Nails’ trophy for their courage

Mt Wellington Retail Operations Manager Rusty Brooke, Branch Operator Chris Fairbairn, Loader Chris Rakei and Telesales Representative Vic Iakopo were nominated by the rest of their colleagues to take on a funky food challenge.

“We had pickled quails eggs, chilli-infused tofu, a mystery meat we suspected was jellimeat and I can’t remember what the last one was, but it was bloody awful!” said Rusty.

“A couple of the boys come close to puking, but managed to hold it all down!

“Afterwards, we hosted a lunch where we sold pizza by the slice to raise money. We’ve also done a couple of other fundraisers, as well as taking donations over the counter for the past couple of months.”

Swing big
When we spoke to Rusty, he said the highlight would be the store’s sixth annual charity golf tournament at Pakuranga Country Club (held on 15 November) raising money and awareness for men’s health and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

“We’ve got 116 players entered as teams of four. We’ve had great support from our suppliers and other sponsors. Thanks to them, we’ve got some fantastic prizes to give away and some great items to auction on the night.”

Players were able to bid on a top-line Merida bike,a 150-year-old anniversary cask of Jack Daniels and the Black Caps shirt worn by B.J Watling in Brendon McCullum’s final test, signed by the former captain himself.

Notable guests include the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Chief Executive Graeme Woodside and comedian and 7 Days writer Tarun Mohanbhai.

Rusty hopes to raise a further $7,000 to $10,000 through the tournament, which will be added to the $137,000 raised by PlaceMakers to date. 

See the next issue for an update.