NICOLA WILLIAMS
Candidate Taupo/Kaingaroa Ward

My Community Contributions

Chairperson – ERUPT Lake Taupo Arts Festival Trust

I have served on the Lake Taupo Arts Festival Trust since 2004 and was appointed chairperson in 2006.ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival is by far the largest cultural and arts event in this region involving huge numbers of volunteers contributing thousands of hours of their time. In 2008 ERUPT Festival won the Trustpower Community Trust Volunteer Supreme Award for their contribution to the Lake Taupo region. ERUPT Festival is supported by many corporate sponsors and members of the business community. The trustees also seek sponsorship and grants from national bodies and charitable trusts distributing grants including major support from Creative New Zealand.

 The Festival is multi faceted and involves theatre, comedy, music, cabaret, dance and visual arts. We use the Great Lake Centre as our major venue but also involve the Library, Taupo Museum and have used many other venues throughout the region. The ERUPT Festival schools program involves 26 schools where over 5000 students get to partake as audience members or get the opportunity to perform with world class entertainers. During my tenure as chair we have employed a new Festival director, worked with Cato Partners in Wellington to establish our new brand ERUPT, trebled our audience numbers, doubled our box office take, commissioned numerous shows in conjunction with Creative New Zealand, many of which have had their New Zealand premiere at ERUPT Festival.

Other community contributions have included:

• Trustee on the second Life Education Trust in NZ where I established the Harold Club ...fundraising initiative which was then adopted nation-wide

• Served 3 different schools on parent teacher school committees

• Business mentor for Chamber of Commerce Young Enterprise Scheme and mentor for ...research and development and building brands for various companies

• Trustee of EDAid, a body funded by the NZ government and the Anglican Church of NZ to build ...a school that can now educate up to 600 children in Kagera, Tanzania

• Member of Federated Farmers

• Board member of the Western Flyers Netball team for Coca Cola Cup

• Donor of Cancer Lodge at Waikato Hospital, Lion Rescue helicopter and Taupo Coastguard

• Taupo Museum supporter

• Corporate patron and advocate of the Sargeant Art Gallery, (one of the most important regional ...galleries with respect to its’ significant collections)

• Member of Wanganui Chamber of Commerce executive

• Member of the Wanganui Heritage Buildings Trust

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