Once again the heads hotel fishing club held its Annual Charity Day on the banks of the beautiful Shoalhaven River on Sunday the 8th January 2012. The early part of the day was overcast and with slight winds it was perfect to start the entertainment off with young 12 year old Aden Spencer taking to the stage and performing a few of his songs. The kids lined up for the huge slippery slide, cha cha ride and the gladiator challenge which kept them amused for hours, while the Marine Rescue volunteers took parents and kids for 40 mins boat rides on their new Staber 38 rescue vessel.
Also on the day we had clowns and face painters, kid's corner, cake stalls, fairy floss and slushies, ice creams and coffee madness and the Apex BBQ helpers were kept busy making steak, rissoles and sausage sandwiches.
Then the heavens opened up and we got our first big down pour of rain. It was standing room only under the tarps and inside the hotel. Fifteen minutes later the sky cleared and it was on to the auctions with our special host for the day Adam Straney from 2ST doing a fantastic job getting the crowds buying up big. The XXXX Gold Summer Promotions Kombi was a big hit with the DJ belting out the latest tunes and giving away prizes .If we didn't have bad luck we would have no luck at all cause for the rest of the day heavy rain and thunderstorms interrupted the day . We also had a variety of entertainment on offer with the likes of Emma Boxsell, Gentlemen and Vagabonds, Rod Mitchell, Emily White, Shelby Phornett and Josh Shaw. Unfortunately some didn't get a chance to perform because of the bad weather but we really appreciated that they travelled a long way to be part of our Charity Day.
The rain didn't keep the enthusiasm away with crowds numbering in the thousands all staying on to see who would win the major raffles and this time all the prizes were won by locals. Some of the major prizewinners were:
1st prize was won by Brooke Bevan of Shoalhaven Heads, she took delivery of a fantastic 4.1 metre Brooker Boat with Trailer & 30 hp Yamaha Outboard Motor donated by the Heads Fishing Club and supplied by Abby's Auto & Marne South Nowra
2nd prize of a Hobie Outback Kayak and accessories supplied by David O'Toole of Outback & Beyond Kayaks South Nowra was won by Steve "Thommo" Thompson of Shoalhaven Heads
The Heads Hotel Fishing Club would like to send a huge thankyou to all the businesses who donated auction goods, the huge effort by the volunteers and club members to help raise over $17,000.00 for our four charities Apex The Shak, Volunteer Marine Rescue, Shoalhaven Heads Surf Lifesaving & The Shoalhaven Heads Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade, a big thank you also to Adam Straney 2ST and to all the Fishing Club Members & The Heads Hotel staff who once again worked tirelessly to ensure the 2012 Monster Charity Day was a fantastic success.