Meeting Newz September / October 2020

EVENT NAME: NZ School and Community Oral Health Forum DATES: 6th- 8th May EVENT MANAGER: Pip Zammit, Northland DHB DESTINATION: Russell VENUES: Duke of Marlborough Hotel Conference: The Duke Dinner: The Duke ACCOMMODATION: The Duke along with other accommodation located in Russell NO OF DELEGATES: 80 DELEGATE ORIGINS: All over NZ INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS: From ORAL HEALTH FOR UM, R USSE L L Jakarta and around NZ presenting about oral and general health. NO OF EXHIBITION / TRADE BOOTHS: 12 trade tables EVENT DINNER THEME: Summertime in the Bay More in-depth info/comments: ABOUT YOU: I am the sponsorship secretary for the society and service manager for the oral health service and director scientific, technical, allied health, Northland DHB. ABOUT YOUR ORGANISATION: A collective group of service managers, clinical T H E F A C T S : directors and clinical leads from providers of public oral health services, mainly DHBs. WHAT WERE THE KEY CHALLENGES FOR THIS EVENT? No challenges as the team at the Duke sorted everything for us. WHY YOU CHOSE THE DESTINATION? To showcase Northland. WHAT YOU LOVED ABOUT THE DESTINATION? Amazing weather for May, beautiful place, lots of accommodation within walking distance to Duke. WHAT YOU LOVED ABOUT THE VENUES? The setting, layout of the venue and the team were so helpful. WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME? Nothing WHERE IS YOUR NEXT EVENT? Nelson WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF A GREAT EVENT? Great venue, accommodating team, all our needs met. Accommodation at the same venue as conference is always great. WHAT IS YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE? Book your next event at the Duke. FINAL COMMENTS? The Duke was the best venue we have had our conference at for many years. It was nice to go to a region rather than a city. Every detail of organisation was covered off so well by the team at the Duke. The food at the gala dinner on the Tuesday night was fabulous. BAY OF I SL ANDS ] The Duke The Duke of Marlborough in Russell is a piece of New Zealand history in its own right, having held the country’s first liquor license and making claim to ‘refreshing rascals and reprobates since 1827’. These days the hotel, with its waterfront R USSE L L , RETREATS AND A NUMBER OF F I RSTS ! The Duchess Room at The Duke setting and extensive deck space that takes advantage of that, is ideal for corporate retreats and strategy meetings. However, it also has larger spaces (such as the Grand Ballroom) and off-site options. Bridget Haagh, co-owner of the Duke of Marlborough (along with Anton Haagh, Jayne Shirley and Rikki Kinnard), points out that the hotel has adapted to the current uncertain business environment by offering flexible refunds and other measures to provide confidence when booking. ‘We find that companies often get their people together here and go out and do team building around the Bay of Islands. There is the historic side, the wine trails and more, which we can organise from the hotel.’ While the Duke of Marlborough offers a number of meeting and function spaces in the historic building, groups can also access a villa across the road and Charlotte’s Kitchen (which is built over the sea at Paihia) for more contemporary surroundings. The hotel has 38 guest rooms, but Russell also has a number of other accommodation providers to help cater for larger groups. Russell, known as Kororareka in the early 19th century, was New Zealand’s first sea port, first European settlement and first liquor licence, with the first capital in nearby Okiato. C A S E S T U D Y meeting newz [september october] 2020 [13]