The top women’s team at the Eastland Rescue Helicopter Trust fundraising golf tournament at Poverty Bay Golf Club were the Fantastic Fore crew of (from left) Rebecca Pepere, Lynne Holmberg, Jo Kerr and Maraea Wesche.
The top women’s team at the Eastland Rescue Helicopter Trust fundraising golf tournament at Poverty Bay Golf Club were the Fantastic Fore crew of (from left) Rebecca Pepere, Lynne Holmberg, Jo Kerr and Maraea Wesche.
For last year’s Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust Charity Golf Tournament, Alister Jennings lent his respectable handicap of 7 to the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter’s in-house team, who didn’t win a thing.
But this year the regular ring-in helped achieve a better result when he joined Team Richard Foon, who won the mixed section of last Friday’s Craigs Investment Partners EHRT 19th annual tournament.
Due to a hand injury, the team’s namesake was not among the 144 players making up 36 teams for what turned out to be a stunning day on the Awapuni Links fairways after heavy downpours earlier in the day.
Despite his absence on the course, Foon made some big contributions to the post-match auction, making for winners all-round as EHRT raised $15,260 to help support the lifesaving work of the rescue helicopter.
Of that, $6400 was raised through raffles run on the course, the sale of EHRT’s famous steak sandwiches and green fees donated by Poverty Bay Golf Club. Generous bidding at the auction netted the remaining $8860.
Team Ben Humphreys were the overall winners of the 19th annual Craigs Investment Partners EHRT Charity Golf Tournament held last Friday at Poverty Bay Golf Club’s Awapuni Links course. From left, Steve Titter, Ben Humphreys and Joss Levens. Absent is Matt Humphreys.
The trust was not the only winner on the day. The major prize-winners for the 18-hole ambrose net competition were -
First men’s team and overall winners: Ben Humphreys net 56.75.
Mixed teams: Richard Foon 60.125, 1st; Placemakers 56.87, 2nd; King Bees Honey 57.12, 3rd.
Fleur Gardiner, of naming sponsor Craig’s Investment Partners Gisborne, was on course all afternoon running the company’s closest-to-the-pin competition on the sixth hole.
The winners were Mick Murphy (male) and Kylie Johnson (female), who go into the draw to win one of two major prizes at the next New Zealand Golf Open.
Richard Foon was benched with a hand injury but the team who carries his name did him proud, taking out first prize in the mixed section of the charity ambrose teams' golf tournament, which raised over $15,000 for the Eastland Rescue Helicopter Trust. From left, Peter Hakiwai, Louie Krill, Alister Jennings and Carol Wells.
Generous sponsorship saw spot prizes awarded to a member of each team at the prizegiving.
“Having access to Poverty Bay Golf Club’s course is a major contribution in itself and we are most grateful for that, as well as the diligent work of Paul Rickard, who is here every year to wrangle teams and tally scores,” EHRT chairman Ian Parker said.
“If it wasn’t for them and our naming sponsors, supporters, auction contributors and, of course, the teams themselves, we would not have an event.”
To keep the service on 24/7 standby costs well over $900,000 a year of which around $350,000 must be raised by EHRT.
The chopper team last year logged more than 500 hours of flying time, even more than the record of 2023, which was an exceptionally busy post-cyclone environment.
ACO Leah Kortez and other members of the Trust Tairawhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter team were on hand to help keep players like Peter Hakiwai fuelled during their round.
It’s an ever-evolving space and for the trust it’s an exciting time of planning for open days at EHRT’s Gisborne hangar, and negotiating longer-term contracts for the service.
“But fundraising is always a critical part of the work we all carry out on a volunteer basis,” Parker said.
“The money raised today will go a long way to supporting our Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter and its incredible team, who do so much for the community right across our very large region.”
