A ball with a difference!

Article by PDG Liz Courtney, Assistant Rotary Regional Public Image Coordinator

Rolleston Rotary is a new style club in District 9999. It was chartered just over 2 years ago and has established itself firmly in the local community by reaching out to the local businesses in this growing new township which has many young families and attracts retirees.

They were given sponsorship monies by a building company which is opening up new housing developments on the basis that it would be used for an event to involve and attract the locals.

A local winery set up a bar with all profits going back to the Rolleston Rotary for use in the community. They also benefitted by having local exposure to this growing market and were able to hand out promotional material. Rotary also had brochures on the table about the club and contact details.

The Rotarians decided that a themed ball would bring the locals a fun event with a touch of glamour, and they could keep the cost low to make it an affordable night out for everyone to attend. They sold 200 tickets very quickly at $50 each which included continuous food throughout the night.

One of the Rotary members is a High School teacher at the local College and she approached the Rolleston College Home Technology group with a proposal to provide all the food and catering staff.

The Rotarians saw this as a great opportunity to help these students learn about budgeting, food preparation and set up for an event. The school would also benefit from the learning experience and raise some funds.

The Band was truly awesome with almost everyone instantly taking to the dance floor and the atmosphere with everyone dressed in 1920s outfits set the night up in a festive party mood.

A state of the art photo booth which had airdrop phone capabilities and took instant frames created many memories for everyone and a lot of laughter!

One of the Rotarians had connections through her business with the Selwyn News local paper and they ran a promotion on the ball before the event and reported a whole page on its success afterwards complete with photos. The talk is that next year they will run another themed ball as they could have sold the tickets twice over!

Their example of planning, teamwork and thinking outside the square has given the Rolleston Rotary members great exposure and raised their profile. It has helped students, Rolleston College and local businesses.