Reactions to TEDxTauranga 2014

Below is a list of testimonials & reactions that we’ve collected over the last 5 weeks since TEDxTauranga (you can add your own to the comment section at the bottom).

• Volunteer to join the 2015 team
• Become an event sponsor/partner (or let us know who we should talk to)
• Nominate a speaker for 2015

Cheers,Sheldon Nesdale(07) 575 8799, or 021 128 5046

TEDxTauranga Speaker Reactions:

If you know someone who would make an awesome TEDxTauranga speaker in 2015, you can nominate them.

“Thank you for the opportunity to speak, it was a truly inspiration experience, and great to meet your amazing crew. Awesome job pulling it all together!”– Nicole Masters, 2014 TEDxTauranga Speaker
“I commend you and am so grateful to you for your courage and vision… You’re definitely making a difference in our community and in the world, thank you.”– Dr. Liza Schneider, 2014 TEDxTauranga Speaker
“Congratulations on managing such an awesome event. Everyone I spoke to really enjoyed the TEDx event – me too! I felt honored to be one of your speakers.”– Dr. Rodney Ford, 2014 TEDxTauranga Speaker
“Wahoo! Loved the TEDx experience! Inspiring and mind blowing. Great job crew. Thanks for the invite!!!!!”– Nicole Masters, 2014 TEDxTauranga Speaker
Sponsor Reactions

If you would like to sponsor the 2015 event, call Sheldon on 575 8799, or 021 128 5046.
“What a great experience and event – well done! I thoroughly enjoyed the day/night and just wanted to commend you and your team for a fantastic TEDx show where all of the speakers and performers lived up to their billing.”– Tait Grindley, General Manager at New Zealand Institute of Management Inc.
“As a firm we want to engage with our clients at a deeper level than as a simple service provider. Part of that engagement is the exchange of ideas and interests. By sponsoring TEDx we demonstrated to our clients that as a firm we value the power of ideas to make a difference. As an event it also gave us multiple opportunities to Network with many people on the day between speakers. There was a real buzz in the breaks and striking up a conversation was dead easy. We would definitely recommend sponsoring the event to any business that wants to make a difference and be associated with a diverse audience of all ages , views and backgrounds. The experience at the event was outstanding. It was a very professional event of high quality. A visitor from London said that it was better than a TEDx event she had been to in New York.”– Mackenzie & Elvin – Platinum Sponsor
“Tedx Tauranga was a well organised professional event with many thought provoking speakers. As an organisation SmartGrowth values the same ideas as TEDx and aligns with new and innovative approaches to growth and planning. Highly recommend to be part of as a sponsor.”– Justine Brennan, SmartGrowth Implementation Manager
Audience Reactions

“What a fantastic event!!… It was well run; with great speakers and good catering but most of all was the atmosphere and the buzz in the air to be in a room with 500 plus creative, interesting and thinking people. Can’t wait until next year.”– Bernie van der Lee
“Thank you for a wonderful day yesterday, loved it, speakers were awesome.”– Sharon Lambert
“Sheldon was funny and so full of passion. Great range of well prepared thought provoking speakers Entertainment of a high standard. Venue was great and plenty of parking always a bonus. The folk foods and presentation were awesome & quantities seemed spot on.”– Carla Beazley
“Well done, you carried the day in an easy going and entertaining way. I enjoyed the stimulation of different perspectives – putting a bit of music in there helped too.”– Dave Collins, Service Supervisor at Komatsu, Auckland
“The venue was fantastic and getting a good seat was not too difficult. There was the free shopping experience – great giveaways – and the chance to rub shoulders with people before the show got under way. The event started on time – always a plus for punctual me – and your introduction was informative, fun and….. quirky. From the first speaker to the last and including the video talks, the material was always of at least decent acceptable, sometimes superb and occasionally, totally sooooo inspiring. Fantastic, that us GFs were well catered for.”– Murray Maunder
“We had fun, met people, ate delicious food, heard some fantastic ideas from our people that were definitely worth sharing. Robyn and I will definitely plan TedxTauranga 2015 into our diaries and tell lots of our friends to give it a go.”– Robyn Maunder
“TEDxTauranga was a dynamic mixture of real time speakers, new ideas, innovative music, lots of passion and an opportunity to meet great people and discover new adventures for both the body and the mind. The speakers were interesting and committed and for most of them this was a great place to get their message out and get reactions. The day made a difference in all the lives of those present I believe. It did in mine and I am looking forward to working with several presenters and several attendees on new ideas and campaigns.”– Roberta Budvietas, Business Mentor at BUDZ Business Services
“We had a great time with several speakers of direct interest to family and it was particularly satisfying to watch their enthusiasm for all things grow. Lots of buzz all the way home to Hamilton and we are going to have TED video nights once a week.”– Nigel Byron
“#TEDxTauranga amazing today! Learnt what a gluten is”– Jim Grafas ‏‪@jimgrafas, via Twitter
“Wonderful ‪#tedxtauranga event well done ‪@SheldonNesdale !! Looking forward to the next one! “– Tim Nesdale ‏‪@Nez99, via Twitter
“Thanks to ‪#tedxtauranga. A cool ocean breeze of brain food.”Trent Yeo ‏‪@wherestrentnow, via Twitter
“Thank you ‪#TEDxTauranga for new ideas and making me question those I had….. I will never think of CAT in the same way again.”– Louise Miller ‏‪@louise_miller44, via Twitter
“Finishing up at # tedxtauranga so much fun!!”– Sarah-Hope ‏‪@Hopey11, via Twitter
“TEDx was an amazing heartening positive informative day, a much needed antidote to the Fear based NEWS, which seldom features the people taking us to a positive future. The group of speakers and entertainers we had in Tauranga this weekend form part of that positive growing movement. Thanks for bringing TED to Tauranga and including Local issues too.”– Kyle Ashley, via Facebook
“A huge thank you to everyone who worked on, and in this event. It was a huge success. Sheldon and team… I laughed. I danced. I learnt. I had fun. I was inspired. I didn’t cry… Until the very end…when you got teary eyed thanking people. I’d like to add to that… And thank your wife for sharing you with all of us. She must be an incredible woman! PUCKER up guys and I look forward to seeing you next year at TEDx Tauranga.”– Rachelle Sutton, via Facebook
“Thanks for a very enjoyable day, left feeling very inspired can’t wait til next year!”-‪ Sarah Raman, via Facebook
“Sheldon you should be soooo proud of yourself and the team it took to put it together. Without doubt the best day of the year for me so far. A magic mix of information, inspiration, and an overwhelming feeling of kindred spirits there throughout the day. I spoke to so many people I’d never met before.The mix of speakers covered all bases and I found that even if I had a preconceived idea about whether this or that person would be interesting to me, they actually were, because of the way they presented it and their obvious passion about their topic.”– Steph Holloway, via Facebook
“TEDx was an amazing heartening positive informative day, a much needed antidote to the Fear based NEWS, which seldom features the people taking us to a positive future. The group of speakers and entertainers we had in Tauranga this weekend form part of that positive growing movement. Thanks for bringing TED to Tauranga and including Local issues too.”– Kyle Ashley, via Facebook
“TEDxTauranga – Thank you for a great day of “Info-tainment”! I left feeling inspired and energised, with new ideas and some new friends too. Well done to the team for such a great programme and well executed event. Looking forward to next year already.”– Pip Loader, via Facebook
“Really enjoyed attending this event yesterday!! All you organisers did such a FANTASTIC job of putting on a very inspiring thought provoking, high-energy event! Looking forward to the next one!!”– Lorna Kennedy, via Facebook
“Beyond fabulous day, thank you so much. Astounded the way the stories all interconnected on a similar level. Such powerful, thought provoking speakers, original, beautiful music. Loved the ‘shopping on us’ isle, felt like a celeb being able to choose bits and pieces to pop in my bag. Great food, great company, 10/10 to every single person on the team that brought us TEDxTauranga!!! Already looking forward to next year.”– Su-an McMahon, via Facebook
“TEDx allows people with a passion for bringing about positive change to a planet that has separated itself from the natural world, to share their solutions. Sheldon Nesdale, who I would vote for Mayor in a heartbeat and his team of Ted-X disciples, gave us all in the audience, cool kai for thought. It was served up by beautiful minds and beautiful music and it came gift wrapped in a whole lot of love.”– Tommy Kapai, Bay Of Plenty Times
“Changing the world involves spreading ideas locally. TEDxTauranga connects you to that change. Bringing inspiring people to a stage and an audience to whom you’ll find an instant connection.”– Isaac Tanner- Dempsey
“Absolutely LOVED the entire afternoon/evening. The time flew by as we, the audience, were whisked from interesting topic’s to relevant research to new thoughts and ideas. For anyone interested in an injection of inspiration, ‘feel good’ factor, and debate I recommend you participate in next year’s event.”– Jess Somerville, Community Relations Representative at Trustpower
“TEDx was amazing! Well done, it was a treat for the mind and soul!”– Tania Gaborit
“TED is one of the few events that features speakers talking about a diverse range of topics. It’s not the theme of the event that attracts people, it’s the philosophy and the common ideals of the participants that make it such an inspiring experience. And you get to meet lots of new people! TEDx Tauranga was no exception, a fantastically well organised event, very polished speakers and some fascinating topics. Well done team!”– Ben Rickard, via Facebook
“It was a fantastic event. Sheldon was such a warm host, the speakers and singers were inspirational and it made you feel good. Thanks so much to Sheldon and his team of volunteers for giving back in the Bay.”– Cherie Hawkins, via Facebook
“What a wonderful event!”– Kathlene Cook, Community Relations Representative at Trustpower
“The TEDx event in Tauranga was a huge hit. A diverse range of local and international speakers shared a variety of topics. There was and even some singing and dancing…Plans are already underway for a bigger and better event next year.”– TaurangaTech
“I had so much fun, both photographing and listening. Count me in for next year, I’d be honoured to be back!!”– Little Miss Rose (Official event photographer)
“Awesome, awesome, awesome…Beautifully done. Interesting, with no boring bits. Fabulous mix of speakers and the whole thing just looked polished and professional.”– Steph Holloway
“Was pretty excited coming up to Taurangas Tedx talks Saturday just passed. Walked away feeling it was one of the most inpiring things I have ever done. Stuck in an arena for 8 hours and lots of breaks with 500 other people being inspired. Wicked!– Helen Copplestone
“In a nutshell….. I FREAKIN’ LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! I had bought a ticket for my 23 year old daughter as a Christmas present last year, and she said it was the best Christmas present she has ever had! The entire time, I didn’t get bored or fidgety once. I felt so great being in a huge room with 500 other people who love to learn, and think, and make a difference. The vibe was just amazing!The whole day was a feast for my mind, my ears, my taste buds.”– Genevieve White
“Fab event luved it! We were able to meet the speakers, so they became ‘real’. We were a part of an energy-filled space that seemed to just magnify after every speaker.”– Angie Davies
“Positive awakening to see so many ‘open minded’ people in one place – they all brought a great vibe to the room. Of course the MC did a sterling job too.”– Annabel Davies