See, Not Forgotten, Just Busy
It feels like I have been away for ages. Relay is over, as is one of the 2 busiest times of the year for us. THAT was hell I can tell you. I am at least a month behind in reading so will go over the last 2 weeks that might take time. Otherwise if anything really exciting happened feel free to drop a comment and let me know.
Here are some quick points:
--Relay has gone really well this year!! Like Really well. The last of the money is trickling in but we are sitting at $9182.70NZ!!! We are sitting at the 2nd highest fundraiser at our North Shore event & 4th highest in all Auckland events so far (could change as other teams update & bank their last funds). Amazing! The most we've made since I was captain was about $4500. I don't have records from the previous 4 years under the first captain so don't know how much they made but one of the long-time team members knows it wasn't this much. It may have been as high as $5700 before (think I saw something about an old email along those lines).
I honestly don't know what I did differently this time. We paid for our own tent, which we've done before, and that takes out almost $600NZ. We didn't do as much fundraising this year due to resistance from management but 1 raffle did net us over $600 (paying for the tent) which was amazing. We did have a decent-sized team of 22, but that isn't necessarily the reason because I've had as much as 25 before and usually averaged about 18 to 20 people per team over the last 4 years.
I think it was down to most people being inspired by the cause & making a real effort this year. I did have 3 who really didn't raise any money (1 raised $20, the other 2 raised exactly $0) & had a few others who didn't really start until the week before but managed to get between $50 & $480 each in that time. A first this year was that 8 of us passed the $500 goal each we set -- usually only a couple of the team do that. Another first is that of the 8 of us who passed that goal, 4 of us passed $800 each (with 1 passing $900!). And another first this year is that the "most money raised" prize I give out each year will genuinely go to the person who raised the most money. Usually I am the top fund raiser but can't give myself a prize so then give it to the "person who raised the most money besides myself". Nice to have a change in that this year!
Everyone had a great time. The first-timers loved it. We walked over 315 kms (195.7 miles) together in the 18 hours of Relay. We had some non-team visitors this year, who are all keen for next year. Another first for this year is that one of our visitors was a manager! I have always invited management to come visit but they never have. My manager came with his baby daughter & his wife & had a great time. He's keen for next year & even apologised for not realising how big it was & I think he kind of apologised for not supporting it fully.
I've already told my team several times that I won't be doing the captain thing next year. 4 years of captainship is enough. This was the team's 8th year, I hope the legacy continues in some way or another, even if it isn't a work-based team but just a team of friends & family.
Speaking of work--last week was hell. It was insanely busy. It's always our busiest time but things were just extra-hopping. On one hand, it is good, it means that the economy & business is getting better. But it made for long days, especially right around Relay. We worked late Fri night, I did Relay from about 7:30pm on Sat to 10am on Sun, worked late Mon night and Tues night, decided I needed to rest Wed and Thurs nights (other team members worked late) & then worked late again Fri night. Yeah, pretty tired. I had pre-booked the next 2 weeks off for annual leave and I am so glad I did. I need the rest!
There isn't much else really. I have been completely Relay-consumed since about late Jan/early Feb. I still have to finish things up, tidy up the paperwork & do a wrap-up meeting with thank you prizes for people's help, for most $ raised & most laps walked (81 laps!!! which is 32.4 kms/20.13 miles!). I just have to look at the prizes I've gathered over time (mostly Relay-related merchandise & this year's goodies that were in the captain's bag I get every year).
I hope you are all well. Photos below of Relay. I didn't take many this year, the one of me was taken by a team member.
Here I am with a couple team members (guy next to me in the blue shirt & guy behind/between us). Hey look, I've been growing a beard since you last saw me!
Candle bags. These are mostly mine, but also a couple from coworkers
Some of our team shots I managed to get:
More comment(s) at Red_trillium's Dreamwidth journal. Come join the conversation! You can comment there using OpenID or ask me for an invite to create your own account.
Here are some quick points:
--Relay has gone really well this year!! Like Really well. The last of the money is trickling in but we are sitting at $9182.70NZ!!! We are sitting at the 2nd highest fundraiser at our North Shore event & 4th highest in all Auckland events so far (could change as other teams update & bank their last funds). Amazing! The most we've made since I was captain was about $4500. I don't have records from the previous 4 years under the first captain so don't know how much they made but one of the long-time team members knows it wasn't this much. It may have been as high as $5700 before (think I saw something about an old email along those lines).
I honestly don't know what I did differently this time. We paid for our own tent, which we've done before, and that takes out almost $600NZ. We didn't do as much fundraising this year due to resistance from management but 1 raffle did net us over $600 (paying for the tent) which was amazing. We did have a decent-sized team of 22, but that isn't necessarily the reason because I've had as much as 25 before and usually averaged about 18 to 20 people per team over the last 4 years.
I think it was down to most people being inspired by the cause & making a real effort this year. I did have 3 who really didn't raise any money (1 raised $20, the other 2 raised exactly $0) & had a few others who didn't really start until the week before but managed to get between $50 & $480 each in that time. A first this year was that 8 of us passed the $500 goal each we set -- usually only a couple of the team do that. Another first is that of the 8 of us who passed that goal, 4 of us passed $800 each (with 1 passing $900!). And another first this year is that the "most money raised" prize I give out each year will genuinely go to the person who raised the most money. Usually I am the top fund raiser but can't give myself a prize so then give it to the "person who raised the most money besides myself". Nice to have a change in that this year!
Everyone had a great time. The first-timers loved it. We walked over 315 kms (195.7 miles) together in the 18 hours of Relay. We had some non-team visitors this year, who are all keen for next year. Another first for this year is that one of our visitors was a manager! I have always invited management to come visit but they never have. My manager came with his baby daughter & his wife & had a great time. He's keen for next year & even apologised for not realising how big it was & I think he kind of apologised for not supporting it fully.
I've already told my team several times that I won't be doing the captain thing next year. 4 years of captainship is enough. This was the team's 8th year, I hope the legacy continues in some way or another, even if it isn't a work-based team but just a team of friends & family.
Speaking of work--last week was hell. It was insanely busy. It's always our busiest time but things were just extra-hopping. On one hand, it is good, it means that the economy & business is getting better. But it made for long days, especially right around Relay. We worked late Fri night, I did Relay from about 7:30pm on Sat to 10am on Sun, worked late Mon night and Tues night, decided I needed to rest Wed and Thurs nights (other team members worked late) & then worked late again Fri night. Yeah, pretty tired. I had pre-booked the next 2 weeks off for annual leave and I am so glad I did. I need the rest!
There isn't much else really. I have been completely Relay-consumed since about late Jan/early Feb. I still have to finish things up, tidy up the paperwork & do a wrap-up meeting with thank you prizes for people's help, for most $ raised & most laps walked (81 laps!!! which is 32.4 kms/20.13 miles!). I just have to look at the prizes I've gathered over time (mostly Relay-related merchandise & this year's goodies that were in the captain's bag I get every year).
I hope you are all well. Photos below of Relay. I didn't take many this year, the one of me was taken by a team member.
Here I am with a couple team members (guy next to me in the blue shirt & guy behind/between us). Hey look, I've been growing a beard since you last saw me!
Candle bags. These are mostly mine, but also a couple from coworkers
Some of our team shots I managed to get:
More comment(s) at Red_trillium's Dreamwidth journal. Come join the conversation! You can comment there using OpenID or ask me for an invite to create your own account.