Tamworth 2019 chopper ball has simple, elegant theme

The ball will be held in the town hall on May 4 and, while other regions’ events are more specifically themed, ours will be black tie this year.

Community liaison officer Daniel Gillett said the idea was to “keep it simple for the people who want to attend”.

“We know it’s not always easy to throw a lot of money at a new frock, so we’re hoping we can be more inclusive by keeping it classic and elegant,” he said.

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The night will include Tamworth band Live and Local; a three-course meal with beer, wine and soft drinks; emcee Mikey Hansen – which was “sure to be fun”, Mr Gillett said – and “a huge range” of desirable items up for auction.

“People are so generous and we see this time and time again – even when people are doing it tough, they line up to get behind us as a cause, and we’re really grateful for the community support,” he said.

Mr Gillett said he didn’t want to put a figure on how much could be raised at the ball, but “every dollar counts”.

“That’s the main message: every dollar we raise goes towards making sure nobody has to pay to be assisted by the rescue helicopter.”

The service now flew almost 2000 missions a year, he said; 600-plus of those were out of Tamworth and tended to be “longer and more involved” than those from other bases.

“Sometimes that’s to do with flight times and sometimes it’s to do with the nature of the accident,” he said.

“The areas we service are more remote, it can be more complicated sometimes to get in and out of locations, and it can also be more difficult to locate people when they’re away from a large city centre.

“It’s not just as easy as saying, ‘It’s on the corner of Marius and Brisbane streets’.”

Balls will also be held at Terrigal and Newcastle in April and May, respectively.