Friday, July 5, 2013

30TH KIWANIS TREASURE HUNT 2013 - News

Extracted from The Star Online Beta (13th June 2013)
From KL to Kuantan for Kiwanis cause
(updated with Result of Top 10 Winners)




THE Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur (KCKL) recently concluded its 30th annual Kiwanis Treasure Hunt, which saw a new team of champions being named this year.

The treasure hunt saw 300 participants flagged off at KDU University College early on Friday morning to embark on a gruelling treasure hunt, which ended at Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort later that day.
Organising chairperson for the 30th annual Kiwanis Treasure Hunt,
Chen Thiam Leong (right) prepares to flag-off participating vehicles
from KDU University College.

Recurring organising chairman, Chen Thiam Leong recalled being in the first Kiwanis Treasure Hunt in 1984 and admitted that the committee had worked hard to bring in new challenges this year.

“There are a lot of serious treasure hunt enthusiasts who participated, so we have to keep things challenging for them. At the same time, we want to keep things fun for families and newcomers,” said Chen.

 


Previous treasure hunt records had shown the same teams winning the grand prize over the past few years, but Chen said it was nice to see new champions this year.

A team of four, consisting of Adrian Wong, KK Chai, Lim Ming Yang and Margaret Sha were named the grand prize winners, winning a four-day, three-night Phuket-Krabi cruise for two, among other prizes.

At the end of the treasure hunt, participants and their families had the chance to relax at Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort while enjoying the many fun games and activities planned by the organising committee.

Some of the creative post-hunt games included the VCD challenge, Kre8aBag (create-a-bag) contest, the Helpful Ring guessing game, Healing Drip guessing contest and other activities for children.


 
  

A raffle draw was also held, where grand prize winner Irene Loo won herself two tickets for a four-day, three-night Phuket-Krabi cruise.

Other prizes included electronic devices and home appliances.

Although the treasure hunt did not achieve the initial fundraising target of RM1mil, KCKL still managed to raise RM650,000, which was a notable increase from last year.

About 70% of the funds raised will go to the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Centre while the rest will be distributed to other charitable causes.

LBS Bina Group and Bina Puri Holdings were named as special Hixson sponsors this year, contributing RM120,000 each.


Result of Top 10 Winners


 
More photos are available here:-


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Latest Update @ 15th Mar 2013
Extracted from The Star (15th Mar 2013)
Proceeds from treasure hunt to go to Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation
Generous donor: (From left) Chen and Lim receiving a “Petrol Sponsorship” from a BHPetrol representative at the official launch. 
IN CONTINUING its legacy of being the longest-running charity campaign in the country, the Kiwanis Treasure Hunt was officially launched by LBS Bina Group Bhd managing director Datuk Lim Hock San at the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation (KDSF) National Centre in Petaling Jaya recently. This will be the 30th edition of the treasure hunt.

This year’s treasure hunt is themed “Heal The World”. It is set to raise an unprecedented RM1mil in funds for the operations and maintenance of the KDSF National Centre.

The hunt will be held from June 7 to 9 and participants will drive their vehicles from Petaling Jaya to Kuantan, Pahang, while fin-ding answers to a series of questions throughout the journey.

Lim said he was happy and proud to be part of the meaningful event as a Hixson sponsor.

“Besides sponsorship, I believe the time, energy and moral support of the volunteers and treasure hunters are equally important in making this treasure hunt a success,” he added.

Lim’s contributions entitled him to the prestigious Hixson award alongside Tan Sri Wong Foon Meng from Bina Puri Holdings Bhd as they each sponsored RM120,000 towards the KDSF National Centre this year.

The Hixson award is a special award accorded by Kiwanis International for significant contributions to Kiwanis community service projects. The award was introduced in 1983 to pay tribute to Kiwanis International’s first president, George F. Hixson.

The KDSF National Centre conducts a heavily-subsidised early intervention programme catering to about 150 students below the age of seven with an operational cost of RM800,000 per year.

Organising chairman Chen Thiam Leong said that 70% of the funds raised through the treasure hunt would go to the KDSF National Centre while the remainder would be given to other deserving homes in need of funds.

The events Hixson sponsors are LBS Bina Group and Bina Puri Holdings while the main sponsors include Cantolli Sdn Bhd, SKI Lube Sdn Bhd, Dunham-Bush Industries, Palam Mesra Sdn Bhd and Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd.

Co-sponsors include Fire Fighter Industry Sdn Bhd, KENTZ MEPC (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, M&C Engineering and Trading Sdn Bhd, Sri Kuala Lumpur and Stream Environment Sdn Bhd.

The petrol sponsor is BHPetrol while media sponsors are The Star and Sin Chew Daily.

Closing date for entries is on May 3 or when 100 teams have signed up.

For details, log on to www.kckl.org.my or call 03-7803 0179.


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Update @ 12th Mar 2013
Message from COC Toh Wei Ming

Dear Hunters

The 30th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt is back, and will take place from Friday 7 June 2013 to Sunday 9 June 2013, heading to Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort. This 3D 2N event promises to be another fun outing for one and all, while helping to raise funds for the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation - National Centre.

For those interested to join, please click on the link below for more information and to download the entry form. Entries close by 3rd May 2013, so hope to receive your entries early.


Thank you for your time.

Yours in Kiwanis Service,

Toh Wei Ming
017-2828317


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Kwn. Chen Thiam Leong led his team to launch the 30th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt. YBhg Dato' Lim Hock San from LBS Bina Group Bhd is the Guest-of-Honour who officiated the event, has been a sponsor for the 7th year. This year, his contributions entitled him the prestigious Hixson Award, along with Tan Sri Wong Foon Meng from Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, who both sponsored RM120,000 each.

Needless to say, YBhg Dato' Lim Hock San's lovely wife, Datin Karen Lim has been an ardent fan of the Kiwanis Treasure Hunt for many years.

The challenging target of raising RM1million was necessary to cover the escalating operating cost of RM800,00pa. The Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation- National Centre (KDSF- NC), which started its operations in the current building in 2004 is also in need of refurbishment to continue to provide a safe environment and effective Early Intervention Program for the special children.

Part of the amount raised will also fund the many other community service projects run by Kiwanis Club of Kuala throughout the year.

Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur and KDSF-NC wish to express their gratitude to all sponsors, both monetary and in kind to make the 30th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt a success.

PRESS RELEASE

The 30th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt 2013 was officially launched by YBhg Dato’ Lim Hock San, Managing Director of LBS Bina Group Berhad. The launch was held at the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation National Centre in Petaling Jaya on 12 March 2013.

This 3 days, 2 nights Charity Event will be held on 7th to 9th June 2013, starting in Petaling Jaya and ending at Kuantan. The Annual Kiwanis Treasure Hunt, in its 30th consecutive year, is the longest running charity motor treasure hunt in the country and possibly in the world.

The Hunt raises much needed funds for the operations and maintenance of the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation National Centre which conducts a successful Early Intervention Programme for children with Down Syndrome below the age of 7 years. Owing to the success of the Centre’s programme, enrolment at the Centre has increased steadily over the years to about 150 children currently, and the operations cost is now at RM800,000 per annum.

This year, the committee of the Kiwanis Treasure Hunt has set an unprecedented target to raise RM1 million to refurbish the aging premises and refill the depleting resources badly needed to sustain the increasing student population. Funds from the Hunt are also channeled to other community service projects of the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur.

The theme of this year’s Kiwanis Treasure Hunt is “HEAL THE WORLD”, aptly named to reflect the key objective of the Kiwanis movement which is to help the children of the world.

The sponsors of the 30th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt 2013 are:-

Special Hixson Sponsors: LBS Bina Group  Bhd and Bina Puri Group.
These sponsors will receive a Hixson award which is a special award accorded by Kiwanis International for significant contribution to Kiwanis community service projects.

Main Sponsors: Cantolli Sdn Bhd, SKI Lube Sdn Bhd, Dunham-Bush Industries, Palam Mesra Sdn Bhd and Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd.

Co-Sponsors: Fire Fighter Industry Sdn Bhd, Kentz MEPC (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, M&C Engineering and Trading Sdn Bhd, Sri Kuala Lumpur and Stream Environment Sdn Bhd.

Petrol Sponsor: BHPetrol

Media Sponsors: The Star and Sin Chew Daily.

FINALLY, the 30th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt Entry Forms are now available for download here:


 
Update @ 2nd Feb 2013
Good news for the hunters who closely follow this longest-running treasure hunt! The info on the Kiwanis Treasure Hunt 2013 will be coming out soon!

The hunt theme for this year will be "Heal The World".

Watch this space for the press release of Kiwanis Treasure Hunt 2013!



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just saw this post.

The Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur will be having the official launch of the 30th Kiwanis TH soon, after which the entry forms will be available. For information, the hunt will be going to Kuantan, and will take place from June 7-9 (actual hunt on Fri June 7, with prize presentation on June 8).

Thanks!
Toh Wei Ming

2 Romans 1 Impostor said...

Wei Ming, I almost fell off my chair when I found out about the exorbitant entry fees for this year's event.

In past years, we had paid much less yet we had received more value for money (twin-sharing rooms, sit-down dinner, excellent post hunt activities, great opening gambit, wonderful skits etc). The fees shot up from last year but at least then we had a quad-sharing option. Still there were a number of irked hunters who wisely chose to stay out. Some amongst the rest of us who continued to support the event noticed a glaring decline (ever since the 2011 edition).

With the escalating costs of maintaining the Centre, I can fully understand the need to again increase the collection target in 2013. However, asking for a king's ransom from the participants is not the solution, more like an easy way out.

Sorry but you have lost my support for 2013. And unless I read rave reviews from the hunters attending this year's event, you might have lost my support forever.

Anonymous said...

Hi 2R1I (& others who have the same sentiments)

As I mentioned to another hunter who asked, the entry fees are really dictated by the hotel/resort that we go to. We have been trying for the Hyatt Regency Kuantan for a number of years, and have finally managed to get good enough rates from them this year for us to make it our hunt destination. If you check the hotel rates on the internet, you will hopefully appreciate that at RM500 per person which includes 4 meals (2 breakfast and 2 dinners), the entry fees are reasonable. Could we have chosen a cheaper hotel? Probably, but we know that the Hyatt Regency Kuantan is a great resort hotel, and this opportunity offered to us was too good for us to pass up. Hopefully this explains why the entry fee is what it is.

At the end of the day, all of us in the committee do try our best to make the whole event fun for everyone, but not at the expense of the participants. The majority of the funds we raise actually come from our sponsors and advertisements in the souvenir programme, plus donations, and not so much from participants. This is still the case this year despite the increased target. The accounts of previous year's hunts are always published in the souvenir programme, so you can look it up for past hunts.

We'll be sorry to lose your support, but hopefully you'll be able to appreciate that our participant fees commensurate with the hotel destination.

Wei Ming

Anonymous said...

I have always wondered what was the attraction of the Kiwanins Hunt and why hunters year on year flog to the hunt like no other. After I took part in my Kiwanis Hunt in 2011, I was hooked, became another addict. Told myself I will not miss another Kiwanis Hunt. Search for the Kiwanis High forced me to do the Hunt in 2013 despite its high price tag. Justified my craving by consoling myself the high price is because the destination is Pangkor Island resot.
This year, after looking at the price tag did a self evaluation. This cannot go on. Need to expunge my craving. Then decided to Kiwanis Hunt Anonymus to rid myself of this addiction. Reading from the previous comments I am not alone.
Just like those whose flog to the Kiwanis Hunt in years gone by, now the will be a mass exodus to the Kiwanis Hunt Anonymus. Pira

Anonymous said...

Sorry re-posting after correction of errors.
I have always wondered what was the attraction of the Kiwanins Hunt and why hunters year on year flog to the hunt like no other. After I took part in my first, Kiwanis Hunt in 2011, I was hooked, became another addict. Told myself I will not miss another Kiwanis Hunt. Search for the Kiwanis High forced me to do the Hunt in 2013, despite its high price tag. Justified my craving by consoling myself, the high price tag is because the destination is Pangkor Island Resort.
This year, after looking at the price tag did a self evaluation. This cannot go on. Need to expunge my craving. Then decided to join Kiwanis Hunt Anonymus to rid myself of this addiction. Reading from the previous comments I am not alone.
Just like those whose flog to the Kiwanis Hunt in years gone by, now there will be a mass exodus to join Kiwanis Hunt Anonymus. Pira

Cornelius said...

I haven't been keeping up with the latest developments in treasure hunting for ages now; and neither have I been hunting as regularly as I used to some years ago (I think my record was up to 5 or 6 hunts in a year). I also spent a great deal of time analysing hunt questions, but I haven't been doing so for a long time now. Obviously, there is so much to learn, but it's too far-fetched to catch up now.

But recently, I organised a hunt for some friends here in KK, just for the fun of it, and I suddenly became curious to know what's going on in the hunting scene in the west.

I wonder if someone could send me a copy of the Q&A for this hunt, as I'm curious to know how far I've been lagging behind in the hunting scene. This is just to fill in some of the gaps in my ancient knowledge. I promise not to comment on the questions. Thanks.

Cornelius said...

Oops!... sorry, I forgot to include my email address:

ckoh1965@yahoo.com

Wei Ming said...

For those interested, the full result listing is available from the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur website: www.kckl.org.my