Written by Adam Davis:
Well, that was something a little bit different!
Over the year, we have been working on some events for our community that move beyond the regular drive days. One such idea was to host a motoring themed movie night.
With the Ford v Ferrari movie debuting in November, the timing was perfect… but how to put this together?
Enter ambassador Paul Maric and his wonderful wife, Abby.
From the initial Board concept, Abby in particular ran with the event’s co-ordination, something that was massively appreciated by the Board and the two founders in particular.
Paul and Abby created calls to action, sourced donated prizes, selected the venue and generally did a fantastic job supporting Sarah, who managed processes that could only be dealt with at HQ.
The event had a wonderfully nostalgic feel to it, featuring classic Ford and Ferrari vehicles on the screen at the Coburg Drive-In, who had created a space specifically for our group to congregate in the lead up to an exclusive screening.
We had over 40 cars attend, many with multiple passengers and several snack packs ordered from the diner-style cafe located on site.
As our community gathered in under the big screen to hear what Paul and myself (Adam) had to say about the charity, and also the generous sponsors, it was a chance to admire the breadth of vehicles and lose count of the laughter echoing throughout the group. From a classic Mark 2 Jaguar through to race-inspired MX-5s and Paul’s brand new Supra, there was something for everyone.
You could also tell the experienced drive in hands against the newcomers. Picnic tables and wine by the Jaguar, a reversed-in Landcruiser and our humble one-up Ford Focus, nose pointing slightly uphill for better viewing, thanks to an anonymous tip.
I really enjoyed the light and informal feel of this event, and the focus on joking and simply enjoying each other’s company. As we deal with some pretty strong topics pretty regularly, I felt the night’s mood was a great ‘lift’ for everyone in attendance.
We simply could not have conducted the pre-show festivities without the assistance of the charity’s sponsors for the evening, including:
Many also generously donated raffle prizes, including:
Driver Dynamics track day and defensive driving vouchers;
A 32gb iPad from Black Iron Technology Group;
Two tickets to the Benalla Auto Club Gala dinner, including accommodation, Winton track time and a morning DAD drive;
A Bridgestone merch pack;
Village Gold Class vouchers;
Spa vouchers from Feeling Smooth and BODA;
Vic Roads Custom plate vouchers;
And Krispy Kreme doughnut packs.
What about the movie?
Well guys, the double experience of sitting in your car while watching a car film needs to be experienced at least once!
It was quaint to tune in the car radio to 91.9 (if you had a radio, that is… not all of our cars did!), recline back and enjoy what was an engaging and well portrayed story of how Ford – angry at Enzo Ferrari pulling out of a sale to them at the last minute – developed the Ford GT40 to conquer Le Mans.
Given the encouraging feedback, smiling faces, and strong raffle engagement, we will look to do more events like this in future – let us know what you’d like to see in 2020… and remember every cent raised by the charity builds further events and expands our Mental Wellness Network, so we are there for you at every stage of your mental health.
We also wanted to thank Ben Hamono for being our photographer on the night. Please give his Facebook page a visit: http://facebook.com/