Blind Men’s Car Rally has always been “the event” for the year for Ahmedabad Round Table # 40. And as the years passed by, rally became our annual event which like any annual event gets organized and celebrated. This was the 12th year in succession when we had opportunity to organize the event. The time we approached Blind Peoples Association (BPA) we found a different enthusiasm in them. This was suppose to be 200th Birth Anniversary of Louis Braille, the saint (as they call him), who invented Braille. Coincidently the birthday was on 4th Jan which was also a Sunday. The stage was set and knowing the importance of the day for BPA we also had to do our homework. Next meeting was the time to decide our Car Rally Convener. After little hesitance Tr. Daman accepted the responsibility. From that very moment I was sure that we are not going to organize this event we are going to live this event for the rest of our life.
Event: 12th Blind Men’s Car Rally – 2009
Organizers: Ahmedabad Round Table # 40
Convener: Tr. Daman Thakore
Co-Convener: Tr. Deepak Shah
Date: 4th January 2009 – Sunday
Time: 8.00 AM onwards
Venue: Blind Peoples Association, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad
Chief Guests: Mr. Atul Karwal, IPS – Commissioner of Police (Traffic) – Ahmedabad
Mr. I. P. Gautam, IAS – Commissioner, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner
Number of Participants: 117 Cars (Record of all sorts till now)
Key Supporter to event: Ahmedabad Ladies Circle # 64
Ahmedabad 41ners Club # 105
Other Tables Support: Ahmedabad Heritage Round Table 193 – For Marshals & Route Survey
Ahmedabad Dynamic Round Table 170 – For Publicity Designing
Ahmedabad Frolic Round Table 199
Rally Distance Covered: 68.40 KM in and around Ahmedabad
Corporate Houses Rep: Zydus Cadila, Wagh Bakri Tea, Vadilal Industries, Adani Group etc.
NGO Supporters: Lions Club International
Media Partners: Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM
Media Houses Present: Zee TV, NDTV, E TV, TV9, Doordarshan, CNN IBN, Aaj Tak
Press Correspondents: The Times of India, Indian Express, Ahmedabad Mirror, DNA, Sandesh, Gujarat Samachar
Online News Publication: Yahoo News, and http://www.roundtablecarrally.com/
Car Rally Report:
I was toying in my mind as to in which facet of tabling I should report this event. Car Rally, to my mind, is an event which is complete tabling in itself. The report is a snapshot of different facets of tabling which we experienced in this event:
Fellowship:
What does fellowship means? Simplest answer is - Fellowship means having spent good time with your friends. Starting from the day in Nov 2008 when we decided to organize car rally we at ART 40 are having a good time together. Sometime it was just getting together at one of the tabler’s offices for an extempore meeting and having tiffin lunches together and other times having a drink session at night packing marshal kits at a tablers home. We were having a ball for the entire period of two months. Mornings used to be when we used to get wake up calls from our route surveyors at 6 am in chilling winters pulling us along for route surveys. Day time it was fully booked for our rally convenor who used to pull us along for fund raising, selling participation forms, publicity and meeting at BPA. This was no end to it, nights used to be livelier packing marshal kits, joyriding a mock rally, pulling one’s leg and enjoying a peg. Every single moment was fun and zeal to do something, no by now it was creating something.
Fund Raising:
Which industry did we miss out? There was retail – Titan and AB Jewels, there was infrastructure and real estate – PACIFICA, there were biggies in automobile – BMW and General Motors, there was textile – Raymonds, there was engineering – JCB Machines, Jay Pumps, there was energy – India Wind Powers, there was food industry – Super Breads and Kabhi bhi, there was media – Radio Mirchi, Car Magazine, Overdrive and HET Graphics, there was IT company also – Service Tax Online & Shri Vinayak GPS Systems. If this was not enough, we even did not leave other NGOs – Lions Club International was convinced about our management skills and it agreed to be a lead sponsor for the event where we bargained them not be part of organizing team. In cash and in kind, “FUND RAISING” was more than Rs. 5 Lacs but “FUN RAISING” was beyond count.
HRD:
Leading experts say that what you don’t learn in class room teaching, you learn on the job training. The entire management skills were put to test for all of us. The event had different challenges to be met –
- Planning
- Organizing
- Resources Management
- Directing
- Co-ordination
- Reporting and
- Budgeting
We found our strengths in many areas which we capitalized on and weaknesses in few areas which needs to be corrected in such other events. All in all it was a great exercise on team work, leadership, management skill test.
Community Service Projects:
The very moment we decide to undertake a Car Rally as an event with BPA we have a project in itself. To my mind, whenever you bring a smile on face of someone you have done community service. Imagine the happiness a blind navigator feels when he navigates a CEO of a company who mans thousands of people under his command. For a Blind Navigator this is feeling like being on top of the world for those three hours of car rally. This is what we do as community service under this project. We do not spend money on this project but we bring happiness and smile on face of those differently abled jems.
Of course part of profit from the event goes to BPA for their development activities also. This year we will have a fund account created in BPA named ART 40 - Fund Account which will ensure the funds on projects being used as per direction of ART 40 and also the publishing of our ART 40 Fund Account in Balance Sheet of BPA which reaches who’s who in the society at large.
Extension
This year we had a unique idea floated by our Car Rally Convener, he had printed feedback forms which were compulsory for every participant to fill. The unique idea was we had kept two rows which questioned whether the participant is below the age of 40 and was he interested to know more about and join Round Table movement. The idea has clicked. We have more than 40 feedback forms which has positive answer to this all important question on extension. Our extension convener has a tough year ahead.
Publicity
“Press and Media Makes or Breaks an Event”. It was so very true for our the success of event. A major breakthrough was achieved when we formally and officially signed a MOU with Radio Mirchi to be our media partner for the event. More than 100 spots were allotted for publicizing the event at every 10 minutes during peak hours by Radio Mirchi. There were interviews of last year’s participants, winners, organizers, ladies circle, live coverage during mock rally and even live coverage of entire car rally till the end with Mirchi Lal Bumberwali Gaddi participating in the event for the entire route of 68.4KM and that too till the end of the event. A curtain raiser by The Times of India was also there just 2 days before the rally.
On the day of the rally and the day after till I write this report, I have news that the event is already covered by Zee News, E TV, TV9, NDTV, CNN IBN, Doordarshan and Aaj Tak. The event is also well covered by press media which includes leading dailies like Ahmedabad Mirror, DNA, Indian Express, Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh. There would be more coverage still since there had been other news channels and press reporters who have taken back the story. A detailed report for this is being separately compiled.
The only aspect on which I have nothing to report on is supply house and greeting cards. Had those Braille watches for winning navigators not been sponsored we would have covered this aspect also. But yes, we have other ideas too to cover this aspect in years to come.
The entire team of ART – 40 is fully charged up after this event, I have sent a separate message of thanks as including the same in this report will make it even longer and more importantly that message I wanted to give it personally to all those who have been of help to make this event a huge success.
The pictures attached herewith are only a glimpse of tons and loads of fun and community service activity we have done under this event. We feel, we have live with this event for the rest of our lives.
Tr. Prakash Udeshi
Chairman
Ahmedabad Round Table # 40
Event: 12th Blind Men’s Car Rally – 2009
Organizers: Ahmedabad Round Table # 40
Convener: Tr. Daman Thakore
Co-Convener: Tr. Deepak Shah
Date: 4th January 2009 – Sunday
Time: 8.00 AM onwards
Venue: Blind Peoples Association, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad
Chief Guests: Mr. Atul Karwal, IPS – Commissioner of Police (Traffic) – Ahmedabad
Mr. I. P. Gautam, IAS – Commissioner, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner
Number of Participants: 117 Cars (Record of all sorts till now)
Key Supporter to event: Ahmedabad Ladies Circle # 64
Ahmedabad 41ners Club # 105
Other Tables Support: Ahmedabad Heritage Round Table 193 – For Marshals & Route Survey
Ahmedabad Dynamic Round Table 170 – For Publicity Designing
Ahmedabad Frolic Round Table 199
Rally Distance Covered: 68.40 KM in and around Ahmedabad
Corporate Houses Rep: Zydus Cadila, Wagh Bakri Tea, Vadilal Industries, Adani Group etc.
NGO Supporters: Lions Club International
Media Partners: Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM
Media Houses Present: Zee TV, NDTV, E TV, TV9, Doordarshan, CNN IBN, Aaj Tak
Press Correspondents: The Times of India, Indian Express, Ahmedabad Mirror, DNA, Sandesh, Gujarat Samachar
Online News Publication: Yahoo News, and http://www.roundtablecarrally.com/
Car Rally Report:
I was toying in my mind as to in which facet of tabling I should report this event. Car Rally, to my mind, is an event which is complete tabling in itself. The report is a snapshot of different facets of tabling which we experienced in this event:
Fellowship:
What does fellowship means? Simplest answer is - Fellowship means having spent good time with your friends. Starting from the day in Nov 2008 when we decided to organize car rally we at ART 40 are having a good time together. Sometime it was just getting together at one of the tabler’s offices for an extempore meeting and having tiffin lunches together and other times having a drink session at night packing marshal kits at a tablers home. We were having a ball for the entire period of two months. Mornings used to be when we used to get wake up calls from our route surveyors at 6 am in chilling winters pulling us along for route surveys. Day time it was fully booked for our rally convenor who used to pull us along for fund raising, selling participation forms, publicity and meeting at BPA. This was no end to it, nights used to be livelier packing marshal kits, joyriding a mock rally, pulling one’s leg and enjoying a peg. Every single moment was fun and zeal to do something, no by now it was creating something.
Fund Raising:
Which industry did we miss out? There was retail – Titan and AB Jewels, there was infrastructure and real estate – PACIFICA, there were biggies in automobile – BMW and General Motors, there was textile – Raymonds, there was engineering – JCB Machines, Jay Pumps, there was energy – India Wind Powers, there was food industry – Super Breads and Kabhi bhi, there was media – Radio Mirchi, Car Magazine, Overdrive and HET Graphics, there was IT company also – Service Tax Online & Shri Vinayak GPS Systems. If this was not enough, we even did not leave other NGOs – Lions Club International was convinced about our management skills and it agreed to be a lead sponsor for the event where we bargained them not be part of organizing team. In cash and in kind, “FUND RAISING” was more than Rs. 5 Lacs but “FUN RAISING” was beyond count.
HRD:
Leading experts say that what you don’t learn in class room teaching, you learn on the job training. The entire management skills were put to test for all of us. The event had different challenges to be met –
- Planning
- Organizing
- Resources Management
- Directing
- Co-ordination
- Reporting and
- Budgeting
We found our strengths in many areas which we capitalized on and weaknesses in few areas which needs to be corrected in such other events. All in all it was a great exercise on team work, leadership, management skill test.
Community Service Projects:
The very moment we decide to undertake a Car Rally as an event with BPA we have a project in itself. To my mind, whenever you bring a smile on face of someone you have done community service. Imagine the happiness a blind navigator feels when he navigates a CEO of a company who mans thousands of people under his command. For a Blind Navigator this is feeling like being on top of the world for those three hours of car rally. This is what we do as community service under this project. We do not spend money on this project but we bring happiness and smile on face of those differently abled jems.
Of course part of profit from the event goes to BPA for their development activities also. This year we will have a fund account created in BPA named ART 40 - Fund Account which will ensure the funds on projects being used as per direction of ART 40 and also the publishing of our ART 40 Fund Account in Balance Sheet of BPA which reaches who’s who in the society at large.
Extension
This year we had a unique idea floated by our Car Rally Convener, he had printed feedback forms which were compulsory for every participant to fill. The unique idea was we had kept two rows which questioned whether the participant is below the age of 40 and was he interested to know more about and join Round Table movement. The idea has clicked. We have more than 40 feedback forms which has positive answer to this all important question on extension. Our extension convener has a tough year ahead.
Publicity
“Press and Media Makes or Breaks an Event”. It was so very true for our the success of event. A major breakthrough was achieved when we formally and officially signed a MOU with Radio Mirchi to be our media partner for the event. More than 100 spots were allotted for publicizing the event at every 10 minutes during peak hours by Radio Mirchi. There were interviews of last year’s participants, winners, organizers, ladies circle, live coverage during mock rally and even live coverage of entire car rally till the end with Mirchi Lal Bumberwali Gaddi participating in the event for the entire route of 68.4KM and that too till the end of the event. A curtain raiser by The Times of India was also there just 2 days before the rally.
On the day of the rally and the day after till I write this report, I have news that the event is already covered by Zee News, E TV, TV9, NDTV, CNN IBN, Doordarshan and Aaj Tak. The event is also well covered by press media which includes leading dailies like Ahmedabad Mirror, DNA, Indian Express, Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh. There would be more coverage still since there had been other news channels and press reporters who have taken back the story. A detailed report for this is being separately compiled.
The only aspect on which I have nothing to report on is supply house and greeting cards. Had those Braille watches for winning navigators not been sponsored we would have covered this aspect also. But yes, we have other ideas too to cover this aspect in years to come.
The entire team of ART – 40 is fully charged up after this event, I have sent a separate message of thanks as including the same in this report will make it even longer and more importantly that message I wanted to give it personally to all those who have been of help to make this event a huge success.
The pictures attached herewith are only a glimpse of tons and loads of fun and community service activity we have done under this event. We feel, we have live with this event for the rest of our lives.
Tr. Prakash Udeshi
Chairman
Ahmedabad Round Table # 40
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