Melbourne Cup Luncheon!

For the Melbourne Cup I was assisting in the coordinating of Momentum Forum Events' Melbourne Cup Luncheon for CanTeen. The event was held at the Parmelia Hilton in Perth and offered a delicious 3-course meal with wines supplied by Momentum's' sponsor Driftwood. It was a great working day as everyone looked excellent with their fascinators, dresses and suits while having a drink and enjoying the glorious cup!

For the event Kieran (another intern) and myself organised the 'Sweep Stakes' betting game where all proceeds went to CanTeen. After the race when the winners were sorted, I had to make the announcement in front of the 150+ guests of the event.

X-Factor contestant Sydnee Carter performed followed by a hilarious Michael Jackson impersonator who sung and danced to about 5 Michael Jackson songs which got the entire crowd dancing. While events are not my preference, I definitely enjoy the end result of seeing them be executed with excellence.

Good luck finalising your reports!

Joseph Madeley

Every end is a new beginning.....

My internship at Momentum Forum Events is coming to a close but ended on a high note as I ran my final event, The Melbourne Cup Luncheon.  The time frame between the Pink Ribbon Ball and The Melbourne Cup Luncheon was extremely short putting pressure on the organisation to promote and sell all the tickets to the event. Unfortunately this year we experienced a lower level of ticket sales as there was a huge amount of Melbourne Cup events vying for the public's attention. While this didn't affect the standard of the event it did reduce the amount of funds that could have been raised for Radio Lollipop and The Indigenous Hygiene Initiative. This was disappointing but I still learnt a valuable PR lesson from this experience, which was PR should involve a planned, long term approach to ensure there is enough time to make improvements if a communication plan is not producing results. Completing my final event at Momentum has also caused me to to reflect back on my experiences and the lessons I learnt throughout my time at the organisation.

During my time at Momentum I worked on a number of public relations activities in the process of organising the Pink Ribbon Ball and The Melbourne Cup Luncheon. I am extremely grateful for receiving this opportunity with the not-for-profit organisation as I don't believe I would have received as much responsibility at any other organisation. At times I was overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done but it also gave me confidence in my PR skills. I am currently collating all the work I did at Momentum for my final report and I am amazed that I practiced so many public relations techniques in a 20 day period. However,  I believe the knowledge I have obtained from organising these events is invaluable and will assist me in my future career as a public relations practitioner.

Before working at Momentum I was determined that I was going to work in journalism and not public relations. But Momentum has not only made me consider a career in public relations but also consider working for a not-for-profit organisation. Therefore I can't thank Momentum enough for the amazing opportunity and helping me get my foot in the door of the PR industry.

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed their placement as much as I did.

Ashleigh
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