Taranaki event keeps on growing

In the third of a series on the successful companies in this year's Westpac Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, Rob Maetzig profiles Americarna NZ Ltd, the winner of the Air New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Award and the Stratford District Council Emerging Business Award.

CHRIS HILLOCK

Americarna organisers: John Rae, left, with his Americarna NZ staff Bob Anderson (event co-ordinator), Toni Fabish (administration) and Tania Dowie (management support and merchandise). Absent is Toni Howison.

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It may be one of the most regularly mis-spelt company names in New Zealand.

The name is Americarna, with the emphasis on "car". Not Americana, the term loosely used to describe many things American.

New Plymouth-based Americarna NZ Ltd has won the Air New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Award and the Stratford District Council Emerging Business Award.

Over one long weekend during the past three summers, Taranaki has held a giant Kiwi celebration of American cars and Americana.

Red, white and blue bunting has graced numerous retail businesses throughout the region, and many households have flown the American flag as residents have joined in on the celebrations.

And cruising along the roads and streets have been hundreds of American vehicles of all ages and size.

They've toured right around Mt Taranaki, to the joy of people living in all the small towns.

They participated in a giant Friday night parade through New Plymouth's main street which was specially closed for the occasion, and they've been on display at a country fair at the city's racecourse that has regularly attracted thousands of people.

The first Americarna was held in 2007, and an economic impact report prepared by Venture Taranaki estimated the event was worth $2.65 million to the Taranaki economy.

That event attracted more than 550 vehicles, and the two subsequent Americarnas have attracted closer to 800 vehicles, so the economic benefits would have been even greater.

This summer, the Americarna economic influence on the region is poised to spread further.

The next Taranaki Americarna is scheduled to be held on February 24 to 27, and a month later it will head right down to the bottom of the South Island, where Invercargill will host the event.

Several dozen cars will gather in New Plymouth on Saturday March 20, then head south, overnighting in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

On Wednesday March 24 the fleet will will join dozens of South Island-based American cars and their owners in Invercargill in the first Americarna, Southland-style.

All this represents a dream come true for Americarna's originator, New Plymouth businessman John Rae.

It all began in 2006 when Mr Rae, who was at that stage chairman of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce, attended the popular annual Whangamata Beach Hop nostalgia festival, and thought the small Coromandel town was too small for the event.

"That was no disrespect to Whangamata - but I kept thinking of what Taranaki had to offer.

"It's got the accommodation, the bars, cafes, scenery and the roads.

"So an idea starting forming in my head that we could host a festival of American cars," he recalls.

"I went to New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent and Venture Taranaki boss Stuart Trundle with the proposal to hold what we would call Americarna, and they said they'd do whatever needed to be done to make it happen."

Right at the start, Mr Rae figured Americarna had to be an opportunity for local businesses to benefit financially, it had to be something the people of Taranaki could enjoy, and it had to be something participants would enjoy so much they would want to come back.

The first Americarna, which was run entirely by the chamber and a large bunch of volunteers, attracted 572 cars. It proved a real success - the weather was perfect, the Friday night parade attracted thousands, and the country fair at New Plymouth racecourse on the Sunday was so heavily patronised that it caused a traffic jam on State Highway 3 right back to Burgess Park more than 4km away.

The second Americarna in 2008 attracted 650 vehicles, and it again proved a success - even if this time the weather didn't co- operate. But the growing numbers, and estimates that the 2009 event would be even bigger, also meant that the sheer organisational workload was reaching a stage where it was taking too much of the chamber's time.

It needed to be put on to more of a business footing, so Mr Rae presented the chamber's board with five options as to how that could be achieved. The board came up with a sixth option - that he purchase Americarna for a nominal sum, and that in return the chamber receive royalties from the event.

Americarna NZ Ltd was formed, with Mr Rae as the sole shareholder. It organised and ran the 2009 Americarna, which attracted close to 800 American vehicles. And the royalties received by the chamber made the event the organisation's third-biggest revenue earner after membership fees and sponsorships.

These days Americarna NZ Ltd has four staff, three of them full- time, and they are busy organising the 2010 Americarnas for both Taranaki and Southland.

Mr Rae is trying to be less hands-on than before. In previous years he's had to work 12 to 14 hours day juggling his own business life with organising Americarna, and that's obviously affected his social and family life.

Now he's working to leave things to his staff - even though at times that's difficult, not the least because they work just an office away in his business premises.

"I don't think many people understand just how big the job of organising Americarna is," he says.

"The two events this summer will turn over at least $500,000. There's budgets, management support, liaison with sponsors, our website, and the sheer running of the events themselves. So it's a very big task."

And while he says this is really nobody's business considering he owns Americarna NZ Ltd, he has yet to make any money from the event. It has cost him money, if such things as the use of his office space are factored in.

"But that doesn't matter. Quite frankly, you can't put a price on the buzz of seeing so many people enjoying something that you've helped create. It's wonderful."

Many people have asked him why he didn't set up Americarna as a charitable trust. But he says he would be uncomfortable with that, claiming many such trusts are nothing but fronts to receive money for events they run.

"We prefer to go the other way, and generate income for as many organisations as we can.

"We ask for help from clubs and schools, and we pay the lot of them for their time. That's money in the bank for them."

Mr Rae is delighted Americarna's success has been recognised by the Taranaki Business Awards, and says they help make all the hard work worthwhile.

"But frankly, what makes Americarna really worthwhile is the reaction from the public," he adds.

"Last summer, when we toured down Mangorei Rd on the outskirts of New Plymouth at the end of a drive around the mountain, there were people everywhere - many had their barbecues out on the street, and many others were waving American flags.

"It was unbelievable. It was just like the good old days with the vehicles, the music and the culture. That's what it is all about."

- © Fairfax NZ News