A conference with ‘no clichéd thank you gifts’ — and lashings of Good

By Alison McKessar, AAPNZ National President
The Association of Administrative Professionals NZ Inc (AAPNZ) held its 2018 Annual National Conference and 45th Annual General Meeting at Te Papa in Wellington in August.
We had a busy programme with several guest speakers presenting, including an international keynote speaker who we flew over from Dubai specifically for the conference.
Many of the presenters we had were seasoned professionals who, no doubt, will have received countless clichéd thank you gifts in the past. We didn’t want to give out bottles of wine that might not be consumed (what if we gave them Sauvignon Blanc, and they only drink reds?!) and we certainly didn’t want to gift things that might cause issues with luggage weight or questions from Customs for our international visitor.
Early on in the planning of our conference, our 1st National Vice-President suggested The Good Registry as a great alternative to unwanted thank you gifts. I instantly loved the idea and had seen it done at another conference I’d attended. Not only did it save us from trying to decide what to buy people that was meaningful but we got to support whichever charity was close to our presenters’ hearts.
When I gave away the first The Good Registry Good Gift Card to our presenter and explained how it worked, I could hear the noises of surprise and approval from our audience. Every presenter who received a Good Gift Card expressed what a fantastic gift it was; so much more personal than a bottle of wine or bunch of flowers could ever be.
Our international keynote speaker was totally blown away. She said that it was the best thank you gift she’d ever been given and she would be investigating whether similar businesses existed in other countries. This woman travels the world to present and has several influential people in her networking sphere. I have no doubt that many of those people will now hear about The Good Registry.
Given that our delegates were administrators from around the country, many of whom organise events and conferences, I wouldn’t be surprised if word about The Good Registry spreads in this regard as well.
For AAPNZ, and for me in particular, the knowledge that we were thanking our presenters with gifts that would benefit other people or animals and organisations provided a real sense of accomplishment and ‘paying it forward’. The fact that the gift card recipients could choose from many different charities also made the gifts so much more personal and important for them, too.
In today’s culture of de-cluttering and enhanced social responsibility, I can’t think of a gift more personal and satisfying than the opportunity to donate to a charity (or charities) which resonates for you.



AAPNZ Inc is a not-for-profit, voluntary national association that provides professional development and recognition to people in administrative roles. There are hundreds of different titles for those who work in administrative-based roles and these include executive assistants, personal assistants, administration managers, co-ordinators, receptionists, call centre operators, accounts staff, school secretaries, industry trainers, etc — anyone involved either full- or part-time in administrative roles, in any industry. Administrators from all types of businesses in New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and even other parts of the world, join AAPNZ Inc for opportunities to learn and grow in their role, develop contacts and get a better understanding of how important their role is to any business.
The Good Registry is a social enterprise that enables anyone, from small kids to big corporates, to put the heart back into giving with charitable donations instead of unwanted gifts. With The Good Registry, you can give Good Gift Cards instead of traditional gifts, to enable recipients to make donations to charities they care about
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