Firm aids Red Cross

By LARRY ANDREW
THE Papua New Guinea Red Cross Morobe branch last Friday received a small but needed donation to run its operations in the province.
The K2,500 donation was raised by local business houses with the support of the Lae Chamber of Commerce.
It has been 10 years since the last “I love Lae” project and during that time the town has been through a rollercoaster ride.
Individuals, business houses, non-governmental organisations and service providers are all invited to join in and promote themselves, the town and the PNG Red Cross Society.
All they have to do is buy the stickers in batches of 500, 1000, 1500 or 2000, and the more one buys the cheaper they are. You then give them away to customers, clients or friends and they in turn spread the message “We all love Lae”.
   Frank Butler, who presented the cheque, said the money was part of the proceeds from this year’s “I love Lae” campaign which asked people to get behind their town and proclaim their affection for this metropolis with the aim of trying to instil some civic pride.
“Who knows, we may even shame the powers that be into fixing some of the potholes, not simply filling them with gravel but actually fixing them,” he said.
The people who stepped up to the challenge this year were Rod Brown from Plumtrade, Sir Bob Sinclair (Lae Building Contractors), Paul Jackson (K K Kingston), Michael Burns (Huon Logistic), Bob Howden (Express Freight Management), Edwards family through their business, Eddie’s Saloon, AkzoNobel using their trade mark Taubmans, and Mike Quinn from Professional Real Estate and the Eriku Service Station.
Butler thanked the business houses and Paul and Clinton at Impact Signs for their outstanding professionalism and prompt efficient service.
But he said the number of participants had fallen dramatically down since the last time the project was undertaken 10 years ago.
He puts this down to “a simple of suspension and moral fatigue, people are just plain fed up with the inexplicable lack of management around this town”.
More than 12,000 stickers were bought or donated and can be seen on the back of cars and trucks bouncing along a pothole in Lae.