Charity golf tournament a lifesaver

Shaun Libeau, chairman of Wanganui Lifeguard Service Inc., Michael Wright, Gené Toyne, (commercial lead, NZME) Hayden and Sarah Gibson (owners Mitre 10 Mega Whanganui) with their team members Brett Puklowski and Kawana Tihema, and David Shaw (senior media specialist, NZME.)

About $17,000 was raised at the annual Ambrose Mitre 10 MEGA Whanganui/NZME Charity Golf Tournament held on Friday.

Mitre 10 MEGA Whanganui owners Hayden and Sarah Gibson have partnered with NZME (publishers of the Whanganui Chronicle and Whanganui Midweek plus digital and radio stations) for the four years, with a local charity nominated. The event is held at the Whanganui Golf Course.

“This year, Whanganui Surf Lifeguard Service was chosen as a good local cause,” Hayden said. “Getting groups of Whanganui people, some golfers, saw them enjoying the day and raising some money for a great charity. An auction was held at the conclusion of the event to add to the coffers,”

The day attracted participants from various local businesses and is a great day to bring a lot of Whanganui people and business people together for a fun day out, with a good cause at the end of it.

Shaun Libeau, chairman of Wanganui Lifeguard Service Inc., was proud his organisation was the recipient charity. “All the proceeds of the event come to the Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Service,

“We were chosen because of the awesome work we do in the community and the impact we have on the wider community in saving lives. That fully supports the over 40 rescues we’ve made this year, with only two months through this year, mostly after hours.

“The event proceeds will go towards building our lifeguard capability at Castlecliff and Kai Iwi beaches. All the money will go back into supporting the community and saving lives.

“I’m so excited to be here and to have the support of the wider community and the businesses that have supported us. If we can get people back home to their whanau every day from their visits to the beach, that’s our job done,” Libeau said.

NZME Whanganui commercial lead Gené Toyne said: “It was an awesome fun day and its success is owed to the supportive businesses. A special thank you to Mitre10 MEGA Whanganui for partnering with NZME and the assistance from Whanganui Surf Lifeguard Service on the day.”