Tony Bowater and Jock Stewart getting ready for the night shift. Click to enlarge.

St John's is one of those organisations you really don't wish to have to deal with, but when the need arises you are so glad to have them turn up.
They have been a backbone of our community in times of need since 1885, when lives were vastly different to how they are now, but the reality is still very much the same.
When an accident happens and someone is injured who do you call?

What most people do not realise is that the modern Order of St John's is a charitable organisation, relying on the goodwill of the community to support it. In today's fast paced, hectic and financially complex world this means charities such as St John's have to work really hard to make some noise and attract sponsorship and funding.
As you can imagine the business of running a comprehensive emergency response capacity is hugely expensive.

At the end of August we joined some of the other business leaders for the First Response Challenge briefing. St John had invited this group of eight together to challenge them to ride along one by one on an average night shift with one of their First Response team, to see first hand what the organisation did for our community.
We quickly discovered one of the major complexities faced by the local St John is that our Nelson / Tasman region is the largest geographical one in the country, and the distances that need to be covered by a small team are vast. What the St John crew find when they turn up to a callout also varies a large degree as they are often the first response on the scene of many incidents, accidents and medical emergencies. Not put off by this the business leaders set about getting up to speed with what was required of them as "official observers" in a sometimes emotionally charged situation. 

Paul Hampton (Victory Boxing Programme Director), Chris Bowater (CEO Bowater Hyundai & Bowater Isuzu) with Victory Boxing Charitable Trust Chairman and Gibbons Holdings Chief Executive Scott Gibbons.Chris Bowater, CEO of Bowater Hyundai and Bowater Isuzu, has got quite a soft spot for the Victory Boxing Charitable Trust, and all of the life changing work it does with youth in our community.

He first put his hand up and step into the ring in the inagural Fight 4 Victory Boxing Extravaganza back in 2013, and is now offering anyone who purchases any vehicle from Bowater Hyundai or Bowater Isuzu the chance to give back to Victory Boxing by donating $300 from the sale to the gym.

The idea is really simple. All you have to do is head along to Victory Boxing in Vanguard Street and pick up a voucher to take to Bowater Hyundai or Bowater Isuzu on the corner of Rutherford and Hardy Street's. Once you have found the car you are looking for, present the voucher to the sales team, sort out the purchase and Chris Bowater will write a cheque out to the Victory Boxing Charitable Trust that runs the gym to the tune of $300! 

He has already written one cheque out in the first days of the partnership after Gibbons Holdings bought a car from him and then bought the voucher along to help the gym. 

"This is a genuine thing. We give $300 above anything else because I love what they are doing" says Chris.

"If you are looking for a car, and like what Victory Boxing are doing, you'll at least come in the door and have a look. You want to make sure that you are getting the best deal, and that it fits your needs, but if we can do a deal that works best for the customer, it will also benefit Victory Boxing" he says.

"Hopefully it will all add up over the year. I would love to give thousands of dollars away!"

Tony Bowater (right) presenting the $2000 Bowater Toyota EcoFund Cheque to Don McLean (far left - Hampden St School) and Karen Driver (far right - NEC). Click to enlarge.

Tony Bowater was very excited to be able to present a $2000 cheque to Nelson Environment Centre from this years round of funding from the Bowater Toyota EcoFund. The venue for this cheque presentation was chosen to be Hampden Street School, one of the schools involved in the K.E.G.S (Kids Edible gardens in Schools) programme.

Hampden Street school has been very passionate about the K.E.G.S programme, with a large group of students very engaged with the programme. After presenting the cheque to Karen Driver (via the kids) we spent some time chatting to the students about the impact such a programme has had on their everyday lives. Many now had vege gardens at home, encouraging their parents to get involved and create a fun family activity that also produced produce!