RWC 2011 - It's going to be huge

Well folks, it has arrived. Rugby World Cup 2011. It is going to be fantastic!
This is an event that is going to be great for our country, great for our city and great for the North Shore. Even if you are not in to rugby I think you will enjoy the buzz as the whole country moves into party mode. An aspect that I have really appreciated over the past few weeks is what a boost this event has been for our communities. It has got us off our backsides and working to get everything organised. To ensure we are going to be at our best. Not only has it been good for business, it has been good for the wider community, with not-for-profit groups joining with the business sector and even schools etc. We highlight many of these initiatives that have been happening on the Shore in this issue.
One such initiative is the introduction of the Takapuna Night Market on a Thursday night through summer on the Hurstmere Green. This is a concept being driven by two progressive local Rotary Club’s with the support of local business. Channel Magazine is also a very keen supporter of the Night Market and I urge you to get your friends and family along to support it. It will be great fun with lots to see and do.
Over the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of visiting some of the finalists in the Westpac Auckland North Business Excellence Awards for the purpose of profiling them for our North Shore business publication – The Business Channel. There are some fantastic business stories to be told and I discovered one such business right under our noses in Takapuna. AFT Pharmaceuticals has its head office in Takapuna, owner Hartley Atkinson absolutely loves living and working in Takapuna, so I believed this story to be just as applicable to this ‘lifestyle’ magazine. At the time of writing the overall winner of the Westpac Auckland North Business Excellence Awards had not been chosen, but AFT would have been a hot favourite. I trust you enjoy reading my interview with Hartley.
Enjoy all the World Cup festivities. I can’t remember two months when the social calendar has been so full. Time to party!

- Aidan and the team at Benefitz
Email: aidan@benefitz.co.nz
Twitter: @AidanLBennett / @channelmag