Great Gatehouse opening
The Matamata Public Relations Association committee waited for Thursday morning with fingers crossed for a day of perfect weather for their celebration of the opening of our i-SITE Gatehouse. We were truly rewarded in every way. The hoardings came down at 5am and even at this hour drivers passing tooted their support, early morning walkers had nothing but praise for what we had achieved.
The roads closed, the stage went up and our community celebrated in a way never seen before. We were all delighted that the hard work put into planning this event over the past months had paid off. Thank you to everyone who had a part in making our celebration a day that we will remember for many years to come. A huge thank you must go to Sue Whiting and her staff for the many hours that they put into the planning to ensure that everything went without a hitch. A special thanks to Memorie Brooky who stepped in and took over the organising of the entertainment when Kevin Tappin was unwell.
To the members of our committee who are all volunteers, to all who supported us financially and donated their services, to the businesses who painted windows and made some awesome gardens to add to the atmosphere, to the musicians who entertained us for the day, to our Prime Minister John Key for officially opening our Gatehouse, Mayor Hugh Vercoe for his support throughout the project and MP Lindsay Tisch for convincing our Prime Minister that it would be a little more than a few old ladies having tea and scones and, of course, a huge thank you to all of the people who turned up to celebrate our special day, it couldn’t have happened without all of you.
It was certainly a day to be extremely proud of, thank you. helm of her hardworking team to make these events such a success. I owned a business in Matamata some years ago when Sue was a ‘‘newbee’’ in Matamata, and she was hoping to make a difference then with various new ideas and was keen to put her mark on things.
Many years have passed and I think you will agree, that she has gone over and above all expectations with the tremendous work she has done, the visitor statistics alone, since working alongside Hobbiton, tells the story. She always move quietly in the background steering things along. So well done Sue! Your work in our town is much appreciated and I don’t think your journey is over any time soon. so much. All the best on your new adventure.