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Special Events and Social Functions
Throughout the years, McKern & Associates management work hard to foster good relationships with clients and associates and this is done by having happy staff with high morale and values. In addition to this, events that are held during 'work hours' are classified as team building activities as each member of the firm gains a different perspective on their collegues.
Social events and team building days are aimed at not only building teamwork and increasing morale, they serve as acknowledgement of Damien's gratitude in the work and effort that each team member is putting in to building this firm.
Below are some activities that McKern Associates have undertaken in the recent past.
McKern & Associates Annual Ball 2008
McKern and Associates their break up / Christmas Party on the 23rd of December 2005 at MSI Karting in Paradise. The event that Damien had booked for the staff included 1 x 5 Lap warm up and 2 x 8 lap qualifying races in the MSI’s 6 HP karts. These karts, we were told, are capable of reaching 80kph by the end of the main straight as all of the wannabe racers took to the track.
The day also included a barbecue lunch and salads put on by MSI following the racing. The 8 lap qualifiers were important to the context of the day with the 8 fastest racers going through to a 5 lap feature race held at the end. Early qualifying saw Adam take the top of the list with a 62 second lap, which ended up being the lap record until the final race. Luke soon followed with a 63, Dane with a 64 and Arron with a 64 as well. In the second group, Matt and Cam were fighting for the best time, with Matt coming on top with a 63sec lap. The two surprise drives of the day went to Erin and Sam. Both girls stuck it to the boys and were rewarded with Sam out qualifying Cam in the first heat. Erin earned herself a spot in the final race qualifying 7th.
The final race grid started with Adam on pole, Luke 2nd, Arron 3rd, Dane 4th, Matt 5th, Cam 6th, Erin 7th, Damien 8th and Todd started in 9th. The final race was a fairly clean race with Arron getting the early jump and staying there, setting a new fastest lap for the day on the 3rd lap. The results were: Arron 1st, Adam 2nd and Dane in 3rd. Todd received the Horse’s bum award from MSI for starting the final race with a higher HP kart and still coming last! All the staff had an excellent time and it was the perfect wind down to the Christmas break.
Go Karting Day 2006
For the second year in a row, the staff at McKern & Associates spent the final day before the Christmas break at MSI Karting in Paradise at a team bonding exercise. The day was a complete success last year, hence its return to the final day fixture. With a host of fresh faces, it was the old hands that competed last year that set the early pace. Each staff member ran 3x 5 lap qualifying races and the top 10 would compete in the 8 Lap final. After qualifying the grid for the final race read: 1st, Arron; 2nd, Todd; 3rd; Matt C; 4th, Dane; 5th, Sam; 6th Kristie; 7th Erin; 8th Alicia; 9th Natasha; 10th Paul. After a nice start, the final turned a bit controversial with Todd and Arron coming together at the top of turn 5 which resulted in Todd spinning off into the tyre barrier. But the officials deemed the accident a ‘racing incident’ so nothing further come of it. The race also gave the younger staff a chance to put their Manager’s ‘into the wall’ and Paul took full advantage of that! The final standings were: 1st, Arron; 2nd, Matt C; 3rd, Dane. With Arron’s win, he now has won both M&A Go Kart days but next year will be a different story...just ask Todd!!!
The Jet Boating Day 2007 was split into two activities...the first a game of beach cricket at Main Beach and the second...a session aboard a Jet Boat cruising the Broadwater with services provided by one of our clients at JetBoat Extreme. All in all it was a very enjoyable day with some great catches taken on the beach and some great shots taken of the staff aboard the boat. Images are supplied by Jet Boat Extreme.
The Dreamworld day in 2007 was not only to have fun as a group, but the firm was split into 7 groups and each were given tasks to complete whilst wandering through the park. Tasks including hopping aboard the train, having your photo taken with Dorothy the Dinosaur, a picture of the group waiting in line for a ride and various other tasks. The winning group of course was Damien's group (due to Damien being the boss and nothing else!!) but all in all, a great day was had by all. (Click an image to enlarge...it will open up in a popup window)
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The McKern & Associates staff members again ventured to the famed MSI Karting in Paradise circuit for the annual M&A Go Karting Day held on the last day before the Christmas Break.
With Arron's strangle hold on the driver's title; all staff were eager to remove him of his place at the top of the tree. However some slick qualifying times ensured that Arron stayed in the number one position for the start of the final race which saw Matt H start 2nd, and Sammy start 3rd. After a quick start, Arron jumped out to a lead with Matt in third behind Sammy. But a punt off on the 2nd lap saw Matt recieve a black flag which paved the way for Luke W to attack the 2 time champ. After pulling off a risky move on the top hairpin, Luke wrestled the lead away from Arron and held on for the victory. Bill raced home to finish 3rd. However this was the final year at MSI due to a move in location. M&A will need to find a new home for the M&A Go Karting Day.
McKern & Associates Annual Ball 2008
Melbourne Cup Day saw the team at McKern & Associates venture to Dreamworld for a team building day. The firm was split into groups and were given tasks which included riding rides, visiting wildlife and various points of the park.
It was another fun day had by all.
For the fourth year in succession, the annual McKern & Associates Go Karting day is a highly anticipated event on the M&A calendar, taking place on the last work day before the Christmas Break up.
This year, due to the closure of MSI Karting in Paradise, the firm trudged further up the M1 to Kingston Park Raceway for this year’s challenge with mixed emotions. There were a whole heap of fresh faces within the firm, some eager to give the Go Karting a go and some hesitant. Most were either new to Go Karting or new to the track and even some of the old hands on deck were fresh to the Kingston surface.
The group consisting of 52 staff members was split into two groups by alphabetical order. Arron and Brad set the early pace with Brad reeling off a 61 second lap followed by Arron’s 63second. A few more followed in the 64 to 66 second laps which would be around the average for the day. In the second group, Luke and Paul L were the pace setters in the 64-65 second mark.
But after a bit of shuffling around with the groups, we managed to even out the groups into really fast and fast to medium pacers. This way, everyone got to enjoy the day a bit better. The first heat saw Brad reel off the time to beat with a scintillating 59.2 second lap that would be the benchmark for the day at Kingston Park. Jared, who started from pole, won the first race clocking a 61 second time in the process to win from Brad who started 17th by less than a second.
The first heat for group 2 followed with Paul H winning by a lap from Kourtney who was proving as the female to beat even reeling in a 65 second lap.
The second heat for group 1 saw familiar faces at the front of the pack with Brad winning from Arron, Dane and Bill being the only competitors to finish on the lead lap. Brad again setting the benchmark with another 59.9 second lap, followed by Arron’s first 1.00 flat lap. Emma flew the flag for the female contingent in the “faster” group finishing 5th with Alicia 7th also fighting hard.
The second heat for group 2 also saw Paul H and Kourtney dicing for the lead with Paul eventually winning the second heat. Most of the girls that were a bit hesitant at the start of the day started slicing time of their PB’s with many starting to drop below the 70 second mark which is an impressive feat.
Due to time constraints, the top 12 shootout ended the day with the following grid positions determined at random: 1st Kourtney, 2nd Bill, 3rd Arron, 4th Paul H, 5th Brad, 6th Luke W, 7th Jared, 8th Dane, 9th Paul L, 10th Luke F, 11th Dan K, and 12th Dan M. The final was a 7 lap dash to the finish to determine the 2008 M&A Karting champion. The rolling start saw Kourtney get out to a comfortable lead heading into the first of the corners. However on the second, she overcooked and nearly spun enabling Arron to take the lead.
Some mid pack scuffles and skirmishes took place, but all in good fun. By the end of the third lap, Dane had screamed his way to third behind Brad who had a good 2 lap tussle with Bill. So the race was on with three quick guys at the front. Trading quick times, Arron reeled off 3 1.00 flats in a row to gain the ascendancy with Brad lapping at 1.01s and Dane in the 1.02s. Arron took the chequered flag by 7.67 seconds from Brad, Dane, last year’s winner Luke W, Jared, Bill, Paul H, Luke F, Dan K, Kourtney & Dan M.
Arron has now won 3 of the 4 Go Karting Days with Luke Wolfe winning in 2007. Brad is looking for that title next year you can be rest assured.
