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The Nelson Photo News

 

13

Money, Money, Money

Our organisation's main concern is money - or the lack of it. At a time when Mr O'Hagan should be promoting Nelson 52 weeks in a year, he has to shelve promotion plans to raise, through one means or another, a few more dollars to keep the office open. Here's an example. Of the total revenue last year of $9917, Mr O'Hagan's office raised $4427 through the sale of calendars, maps, carnival programmes and the like. This would be a nice little kitty, but unfortunately, without it, the office would have shown a loss over the year of $4000. And it took 10 weeks of Mr O'Hagan's very valuable time to raise this money - 10 weeks that he could not spare for his job of promoting Nelson. Recently, as you will have read, he made an extensive tour overseas on what turned out, eventually, to be a promotional tour for Nelson and New Zealand. Thanks to B.O.A.C. he was able to make this trip and the publicity Nelson got while in the British Isles was worth thousands of dollars. But the trip, which he didn't Have to make, cost him money, personally. Publicity for Nelson. Look at those two shots below. At Bottom Left, Mr O'Hagan with the Mayor and Mayoress of Nelson, England. And Below, with Violet Carson, of Ena Sharpies fame. This, then - the promotion of Nelson - is his job. Not raising a few dollars to keep the organisation functioning.

Now have a look at the premises he's got for his office. Due only to the generosity of Mr Phil Black, the office is located in the side of the Valet Dry Cleaning building. A very modern office, to be sure, and for which the organisation1 pays $1 a year rent. As we said earlier, if Mr Black insisted on the usual rent for such premises ($17 a week), the office would have to close tomorrow. We have heard the Nelson Public Relations Organisation described as the "poor relation" of public relations in New Zealand. We do not agree with this description. "Poverty stricken" would be a more apt description.