Five local charities are benefiting from $200,000 raised at Colliers’ annual Latitude 45 South lunch.
The long lunch traditionally sees a group of Colliers Otago’s high-profile clients and brokers enjoy an exclusive day out — the location of which changes each year and is kept under wraps until the day — and a charity auction.
Colliers’ Otago director Mark Simpson: ‘‘Fundamentally it’s about creating a special experience that people can’t buy off the shelf to say thanks to our clients and raise real money for the charities.
‘‘The key is to keep attendees excited about what could be happening at the next year’s event.’’
This year’s lunch saw a group of 70 fly with Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters from Queenstown to Glenorchy’s Greenstone Station,
where they had a crack at claybird shooting, and played golf, before the auction, called by gregarious local Colliers agent Brendan ‘Quilly’ Quill.
The $200,000 raised will be shared between the Graeme Dingle Foundation, the Wakatipu High School Foundation, Otago Hospice, Life Education Trust and Glenorchy Early Childhood Centre.
Over the past 11 years, the auction’s raised $1.8 million — next year Colliers expects to crack $2m.
