I am not going to go into the pandemic that we are all facing as I know that each and every one of you have been affected in some way and are dealing with it in your own ways.

Self-isolation is for some a struggle and also very new to a lot of us, so we are having to deal with that in our own ways also.

What I did want to talk about is our people. Thinking back to the theme of our conference at Eden Park in 2018, let’s remember: 

"He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people."

I ask each and every one of you to remind yourselves of that daily and to ensure that mangers, staff and fellow works reach out to those from within their teams and their venues to all of those people as well as people within our industry and ensure that they are okay.

Mt wife and I are doing shopping for the elderly (Keith says as a young 64 year old!!) to ensure that they are not exposed during this period ,my wife is a police officer so I deal with her going to work and having contact with people and maybe being exposed to the COVID-19 virus but I am the proudest husband watching her leave for work each day. I am sure that there are other facing the same everyday reality as well.

Can I just ask that you all take some time to ensure that people around you and those that you care about are well and feel connected and are being looked after? We will, as a nation, work our way through this and probably with more pain and issues to face in the coming months. But now, more than ever, it means so much that family and friends are the most important thing in our lives and we need to ensure that everyone around us knows just how important they are and how much they are loved.

As always, I am available to take any calls and look forward to seeing you in the webinar next week.

Kia Kaha my friends,

Keith 

Keith Parker, Chairman EVANZ

P.S. Our survey is still open. I know everyone is really busy right now but if, over the next week or so, you have a few minutes to document how this has affected your business we would really appreciate it. If you haven't been sent the link and would like to take part, please email gm@evanz.co.nz