"ORGANISING iMODIFY STAR CAR CRUISE 1"

By: Jane MziMODIFY

When I was first approached by Alicia and Anthony because they wanted to do a cruise it seemed fun, but it became so much more. They had previously organised a smaller cruise but wanted this one to be huge... And I think we did just that!!

Next came the destination, date and a name... The easy bit :)

IMODIFY got on board instantly to fully support this cruise for the Starlight Foundation, and with my previous knowledge we drafted letters for donations, approached sponsors and ran ideas.

Sponsors, already involved with IMODIFY, were excited to help... Hot4s Magazine, Motoractive, Meguiar's, Autostyle and Ozzy tyres Moorebank were fantastic! Weeks of sitting down planning, discussing and implementing were culminating in an exciting cruise.

DJ Simmy Zee got on board right from the very start... Proudly wrapped in his 2SUS banner and gave away 200 cd's (mostly to girls it seems). Fantastic atmosphere he created and I value every mm of effort.

Joel worked his magic, got Autostyle involved and we started discussing which cars to bring out. And WOW. Did he bring out some amazing cars, created so much attention on the day.

Alicia and Anthony sent out 100s of letters requesting goods we could donate and almost immediately started receiving letters everyday detailing raffle donations.

Teresa @ Hot4s Magazine and I had a meeting to work out how many girls will be available for the day…

Nick Green @ Hot4s Magazine and I had a meeting to finalise how many magazine copies they can giveaway… Keyrings… and more…

Alisa @ Motoractive and I had a meeting to discuss how many meguiar’s samples we can include in our cruise showbags…

Brian @ Ozzy Tyres Moorebank and I had a meeting… A $500 gift voucher…

This is where it got exciting, it became real…

Everyday the attending list grew, the iMODIFY page was full of people constantly asking questions and the anticipation started to build. Volunteers were contacting us, photographers, videographers and people just wanting to help…
 

Next came the hard work bits, the boring bits and the expensive bits for IMODIFY. My major objective was every cent raised went to Starlight… Flyers, stickers, t-shirts and tanktops were designed and made… Many hours spent working out how volunteers could effectively manage showbags, cars, donations, cruise props, photos, etc… Then, logistics… What, where, when, how, what times etc etc… Keep in mind that we had more than 10 volunteers, 7 models, over 1,000 showbags packed with goodies and promotional stuff from different sources – all to be distributed strategically to 5 different meet up locations around NSW and for the final destination at the Central Coast…

This is where I learnt a lot… Despite having worked out all the loose ends and alternative solutions to common problems – no matter how well you plan, things always go wrong... All you can do is accept it, roll with it and move on… The good thing is none of these issues were major and we still hit all preparation targets…
We had our dramas, late night hissy fits, things that should have happened, things that didn't and we learnt from it. Next time those things won't happen…

And on to cruise day… Perfect weather, great people, great atmosphere and cars everywhere!!!!! We could not have asked for more.

In general the crowd was well behaved, happy to donate and there for a good time. We always have a few misbehaved people… and those who didn’t end up donating for such and such reasons… and a few showoffs… but that is more of a reflection on themselves… not us as a cruise and thankfully didn't ruin it for anyone.

I need to thank Sacha, Vana, Natalie and all of the Hot4s models... It was hot, tiring and a long day and still you were smiling right to the end. To Ashley, my pseudo model and her awesome husband, THANK YOU.

Krista, Mitch and Stephen for standing in the sun for 3 hours taking photos of every car as it arrived…

Brian Smith… A complete stranger who contacted me and volunteered to video all our arrivals…

To Deb and Tony, a local couple who went out of their way so many times to help me… Nothing seemed too much trouble! They were an absolute godsend with sorting out the last minute generator drama and getting Bunning’s Warehouse to donate a brand new power generator for our cruises…

To all the car clubs who contacted me and wanted to be involved…

The local police who were understanding and present, and didn't cause too much grief - although they could have if they wanted.

Volunteers - Jen, Joel, Sophia, Zak, Gab and all their helpers... Without you this could not possibly have worked as it did and I cannot say thank you enough. There aren't words to describe my gratitude.

And lastly, my thanks and gratitude to Alicia and Anthony... Without your initial concept, enthusiasm, hard work and determination this would never have happened.

Estimated 1,300 cars attended and over $13,000 raised for Starlight Children's Foundation

....... and when shall we do this again...?

Much love to all.

- Jane MzIMODIFY

STAY TUNED AS WE PLAN BIGGER AND BETTER CRUISE EVENTS IN YOUR STATE…

>>  View 1,000s of photos  - HERE

>>  Have your say (feedback, recommendation, car cruise you want to be in)  - HERE

>> Express your interest in becoming a volunteer for the next iMODIFY Star Car Cruise - HERE

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