In a rare occurrence, the worlds of competitive pie eating and philanthropy crossed paths at Timaru’s Arcade Ballroom last week.
As a way to say thank you for the work done by professional advisers, the Aoraki Foundation held its first ever ‘‘pielanthrophy’’ event.
Attendees were treated to a Fairlie Bakehouse pie before watching several teams of South Canterbury-based advisers dig in to see who could scoff their pies down the fastest.
Aoraki Foundation chief executive Richard Spackman said the event was a fun way to thank the work of advisers.
‘‘We can see from other successful community foundations around the country that adviser networks and having good relationships with advisers is one of the key drivers of success.
‘‘South Canterbury is a very generous place.
‘‘There are lots of philanthropic individuals here and sometimes they are just looking for that solution around how to give.
‘‘Having advisers say ‘here is that option, the Aoraki Foundation is a way you can keep that money local and you can leave your own legacy’ is really important.’’
He said turning the event into a pie-eating competition was a great way to make a regular corporate event stand out.
‘‘These are very busy individuals, there’s a lot going on. You’ve got to have a real drawcard to get them here, to get a little share of their attention.
‘‘We just want to run a lot of different events that are entertaining and memorable.’’
In the end, the finance and investment adviser team proved themselves a cut above the rest — finishing their allotted pies in five minutes and 15 seconds.
