Mother
Hash 3000th Celebration ( 25th AND 27th August,
2001 )
Mention ‘Mother Hash’ to any hasher and you sense a certain amount of envy or respect for this chapter. It is in this context that hashers would expect much more than the usual celebration-run stuff dished out by local chapters if Mother decides to have her celebration run. Add the above to the fact that Malaysian hashmen are a difficult group to satisfy and one can understand the reluctance of many to take lead roles in the organisation of Mother Hash’s 3000th Celebration Run.
For this, we give credit to Nick Mason for taking on the challenge and coming out with flying colours. Not only was his planning good but it was well executed and everything went off fine.
Hashers from Perth, Singapore, UK, US, Taipeh, Wellington and elsewhere had nothing but praise for the wholesome run, fun and great party. The consensus was that we have set such a high standard for celebration runs that it would be difficult to other local hash chapters to match our effort. We certainly rose to the occasion when it mattered.
We had the right people to handle this arduous and demanding event. There was a lot of synergy (some may say chemistry) among the Committee members. Nick Mason, as the Celebration Run Committee Chairman, did a super job. He was everywhere, doing almost everything except the runs. This was Nick’s first big task for Mother. Able and very decisive, Nick made things move. He was ably assisted by Mike Manis (chairing those long, long meetings) and by our entertainment chief, Colin King. (The entertainment was very well organised and thoroughly enjoyable, but more of this later).
Jimmy Legget and Ted kept the registration list going week by week. Thank you Ted for making sure we had the money to run the show.
Choo did an incredible job in coordinating the runs, getting the hares and arranging for the buses. It is rare that there are no cock-ups in organising multiple runs at different venues but Choo, who put his heart and soul into the job, was almost perfect. His dedication shown through! His main hares, Kana Kechil, Peter Brooke, Peter Cushion, Wong Chee Keong and Paul Lai also lived up to the expectations of hashers who were looking forward to a good run. Dr Chua deserves special mention for ensuring that enough drinks was available for the runners at the respective run sites.
Bill Panton worked tirelessly on the magazine while production manager, Chris Tan added class to the magazine. The magazine was well received.
Thank you Charlie Chandran for taking on the thankless job of being the executive secretary of the Committee, and Patrick and Opera for making sure that there was enough beer and other drinks. Terima kasih also goes to our grand wise man, Uncle Looi for his ‘words of wisdom’ during difficult times and getting advertisers for the magazine. Our dear On-Sec, Lee Kiam Fee should be congratulated for his strong support and commitment while working quietly behind the scenes. A special word of thanks also goes to Freddy, Sly, Peter Brooke, Richard Chan, Charlie Cheah, Ah Wah, Knut and Ng Nguk Kim for their respective contributions.
Personally I felt a strong sense of pride (to be part of Mother Hash) when the entertainment started. The crowd was beginning to enjoy the show and by the time our own ‘Tina Turner’ (Rema) came on stage, it was obvious that the hashers were having a ball of a time. Not only was the entertainment par excellence, but it was the icing on the cake as the various other activities (parking, registration, collection of freebies, runs, food etc) were carried out as planned. In short we surpassed the expectations of the hashers. Judging by the response of the crowd, the effort put in was worth it. Mother Hash Bolih.
Ribuan terima kasih to all Mother Hash members who contributed in one way or another. It was great to see so many Mother Hash members come forward enthusiastically and assist the Committee.
Thank you Nick and Mike Manis for managing such a difficult bunch of guys particularly at the Committee meetings.
Verdict:
We can all pat ourselves on the back for a well-organised celebration run. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We delivered to the satisfaction and expectations of the local and foreign hashers. The overall effort put in by all Mother hash members certainly deserves a double thumbs-up.
It was good to see overseas Mother Hashers Geoff Plant, Big Tom, Mike Lyons, Clive Knot, David Newman, Gerry Gomez, Bill Morrison, Colin Snow etc at this get-together.On On
Bill Panton’s Note: Our much lauded and highly respected Hash Flash Pola deserves special praise for his candid camera work and strong editorial support for the magazine.
The Organising Chairman’s Note:Hi Pola,
Thanks, you are very kind, and missed one very important person in the success.......you!
The
people appointed to security during the show, forgot or got so drunk they
could not help, which left you and I.