Calgary Stampede  - the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!

The Calgary Stampede which bills itself as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, is a large festival, exhibition, and rodeo held in Calgary, Alberta for 10 days every summer from early to mid-July, attracting more than 1.2 million visitors.  It is one of Canada's largest annual events, and the world's largest outdoor rodeo.  During Stampede Week, the city is flooded with tourists who join locals in the spirited atmosphere by dressing in western attire.

This year (2009), H&L is extremely proud to be involved in the Stampede activities in association with one of our largest clients in Canada, the Concorde Group.  The Concorde Group hire out two car parks attached to one of their venues downtown, which is occupied by a huge tent that becomes "The Wildhorse Saloon" for the duration of the Stampede.  Some of our team from Australia travelled to Calgary to assist the H&L Canada team during this event.  The tent is constructed in the car park adjacent to "Local 522" which is a multi-level bar, restaurant and nightclub located in the heart of downtown Calgary.  It took 3 full days to erect the tent, then several more to complete the setup inside.  The tent itself has capacity for up to 2000 people.  Our team embarked on the mammoth task of organising the database build, network communication from the tent, installation and training of staff - all of whom are hired purely for the 10 day exercise - while trying to keep the client calm!

This is the calm before the storm!  Stay tuned to this page for more information as the Stampede unfolds...

Wildhorse Tent Construction begins	Day One	Day Two

Day Three	Inside Construction begins	Day Four

Day Five

The Wildhorse Tent - Open for Business!

We simply couldn't believe how the whole city threw itself into the Stampede Festivities!  Every where you looked, people were dressed in western attire and the city was a sea of Cowboy Hats, Boots and Belt Buckles!! 

For our part, H&L were responsible for installing 23 Exceed POS terminals inside the tent into the temporary bars, merchandise and admissions areas.  We then trained all of the staff employed for the event on using the terminals and prepared for the first pre-live event "Sneak a Peek".  This event was an invite only preview of the Wildhorse Tent and gave us a great chance to road test the temporary set up.  The night was a huge success apart from the massive downpour of rain near the end, during which time we had to be very "creative" to ensure the system was protected.  The following 10 days were immense, exciting and a real challenge to keep up with the thirsty demands of the thousands of people who passed through the tent each day!

H&L worked closely with the team of Liquor Managers from the Concorde Group to manage the stock and point of sale throughout the 10 day event. The H&L Team was headed up by Ziad Mehio (Director of H&L Canada) supported by Steve Wiggers (Regional Manager - British Columbia), Julia Jones-Wilson (Training Manager - H&L Group), John Hardy & Burt Admiraal - Managing Directors for H&L Group. 

H&L Canada Temporary HQ	Some of the Concorde Team  Tom, Andrew & Cam	H&L Team - Julia, Ziad & Steve

The Red Bull Stash

All stock was carefully weighed and distributed to each bar and floor personnel.   To clarify, there were 16 Bars in action, 14 people managing sales from Beer Tubs and up to 5 "Shooter Girls" working inside the tent at any one time, and each of these people were responsible for their own stock once delivered.  There was a team of Bar Assistants acting as runners to replenish stock orders from inside the tent.  H&L would perform the stock transfers to each one of these areas.  Demand was huge, the band was loud (not to mention repetitive...!), the crowd was pumping and so were we!  And now we know why....have a look at the stats:

• An average of 990 Stock Transfers per day - that's 82.5 transfers per hour, based on a spread of 12 hours trade!
• An average of 365 Sales Transactions per hour based on a spread of 12 hours trade!

For just 10 days!  Phew!  Lucky we had so much Red Bull - sleep deprivation was at an all time high! And all managed from H&L Canada's Temporary Headquarters conveniently located in a shoe box outside the tent! This was a tremendous experience for H&L and we look forward to doing it all again next year, after catching up on some much sought after sleep!  We can also safely say, it will take at least a year before any of us can listen to the song "Sweet Home Alabama" ever again!

H&L Team - Burt & John	The Crowd - Bit of Line Dancing Action!	The Band

Variety – The Children’s Charity
Although each H&L offices donate to various charities, the Variety Club’s, Variety Bash held annually has certainly been the most fun!

”Bashing was created in 1985 by Australian adventurer Dick Smith when he took a group of friends for a drive that he called 'The Bourke to Burketown Bash'.
The Bash is an eight day drive in the country with your mates. It is NOT a race or a rally, it is a madcap event designed to put the 'fun' into fundraising. Vehicles must be in standard condition and manufactured before 1970.”

H&L National Director John Hardy has just completed his 4th Variety Bash and this year alone H&L, with the help of their business and supplier connections, raised $23k.This brings H&L's total contribution to nearly $70k over the last four years!

Variety Car 2008

Starlight Childrens Foundation

Star Party WA 2008

Starlight has brightened the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children, and their families, throughout Australia with innovative programs designed to make children happy and lift their spirits when they need it most.

By hosting a Star Party for their employees, friends and family H&L WA raised $181.50 which Burt, National Director of H&L, kindly offered to match bringing the total amount raised to $363.00! I

If you wish to find out more about the Foundation please visit their website http://www.starlight.org.au/  

 

 

H&L Goes Back to School

Over the past 30 years, William Blue College of Hospitality and Tourism has become New South Wales' premier school for Hospitality students.

 

H&L are proud to have been chosen by William Blue as the hospitality solution of choice to be installed into their very popular North Sydney student-run commercial 70-seat restaurant.

The fully licensed Brasserie is where Sysnet 7 will be used as a training tool by lecturers and students will benefit from "real life" scenario's which will give them more skills in the hospitality workforce.

 

The reason behind William Blue choosing to install Sysnet over other POS providers is the lecturers believe the quality of the product and functionality along with H&L service is ahead of others.

 

H&L have in turn agreed to sponsor the school with free software licenses and upgrades as we believe the school will develop excellent potential candidates for the hospitality workforce in the local and international community.

 

 

 

H&L Wins Charity Auction

Team Photo with the Prized Bumper!

Burt Admiraal was the successful bidder on this second hand bumper. The auction was conducted just recently at a team Vodafone function prior to the 2009 Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.  

 

"It was easy" said Burt Admiraal.  "Winning meant that we could nominate our own charity, and since H&L has always supported Variety, winning was great for our favourite charity. It now gives us the opportunity to auction the used bumper and raise even more at the next Variety function"

 

The bumper which currently resides in the Adelaide Boardroom was the result of a small run-in with the wall that Craig Lowndes had in the second round in the 2008 Clipsal. He managed to perform the crash right in front of the Vodafone sponsors tent, much to the delight of the sponsors and all their guests, however Craig didn't quite feel the same about the incident.

 

H&L have been proud sponsors of Variety for many years and raise funds annually through their involvement in the Variety Bash, and have raised in excess of $150,000 since becoming involved. 

 

For more information check out these websites: http://www.varietysa.org.au/   and  http://www.vodafone.com.au/

Burt Admiraal & Craig Lowndes	Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup & the Grid Girls