By Jill Bright, People & Culture Business Partner, VenuesLive NSW

As part of our employee benefits offering we are working hard on getting a bunch of Work Perks available to all staff, including discounted meal delivery services.

We know how important real reviews are for a product when spending our hard-earned money, so where we can we will be trialling the perks in house and providing feedback from staff. We will be organising some samples of both the MACROS & Soulara meals for some of the team to test once we are back in the office.

If you haven’t heard of Soulara before here is the run down:

Soulara will bring you a week’s worth of plant-based meals, created by nutritionist and chefs full of superfoods, local produce, plant protein and natural flavours. With a range of menu items that are changing each week. They also offer bliss balls, kombucha and cold-pressed juice packs, Soulara offers something plant-based for every taste, lifestyle and dietary requirement.

And all of that is great… but the big question is: Do the meals taste any good? For now, we have a five-star review from Paula Brodie who has sampled Soulara before.

 

Here’s what she had to say:

“I’ve chosen a whole range of meals from Soulara over the last few months, but my absolute favourite is the Ayurvedic Green Curry Noodles, nice and spicy but not too spicy. I also love the Tomato Soup for the Soul which has become a regular work lunch for me. Ordering 7 meals for a week covers my lunches and a couple of dinners for when fitting dinner in with all the family logistics becomes difficult and my kids love the Choc Chip Cookie Dough Bites.”

So did the Soulara Meals Survive The Try?

“I have tried a number of ready meals on the market and Soulara is definitely my favourite.”

That sounds like a big yes to me!!!

If you’re finding yourself reaching for the chocolate or 2-minute noodles whilst bingeing Netflix, or you just want to try something different, do yourself a favour & give Soulara a go.

Don’t forget to activate your discount & receive 10% off using the code VENUESLIVE10.

 

In this month’s edition of In Profile, we sat down with VenuesLive WA Partnerships Executive Tyler Hutchinson, who has been with the team since before the Stadium opened. Passionate about sports, fundraising and his front lawn, he’s got a wealth of knowledge about Optus Stadium, and some great stories to boot.

Name: Tyler Hutchinson

Title: Partnerships Executive

Can you tell us a bit about your role?

Optus Stadium is fortunate to have a large portfolio of highly engaged Stadium Partners who contribute approximately $9 million each year. My role is to manage our sponsorship portfolio and deliver results aligned to the partners sponsorship strategy and business objectives. I work closely with the wider business to ensure the partner benefits and entitlements are achieved. My role also sees me working on a variety of sponsorship proposals and pitches to prospective stadium and event sponsors.

Tell us about some of your work before joining VenuesLive?

Before joining VenuesLive, I was the Event Operations Coordinator at Domain Stadium (Subiaco Oval) with the WA Football Commission for around 5 years. Prior to Domain Stadium I was the Operations Coordinator at nib Stadium working alongside Perth Glory, Western Force and a heap of concerts.

I have also worked in a few local governments throughout Perth giving back to the respected rate payers through a variety of community events!

You’ve had a few roles at Venues Live, can you tell us how you moved to the Commercial Team and what interested you in Partnerships?

I joined VenuesLive in 2017 as the Event Coordinator working with Bec Purcell (Head of Events). In April 2020 Greg Sleigh (General Manager of Commercial) sold the role to me as long lunches, coffee catch ups and the occasional meeting. I assumed I’d get a new Audi and Optus would hook me up with the latest iPhone….What a stitch up!

In all seriousness, I had worked in events for nearly 10 years and was ready for a change. I had always had a keen interest in the commercial operations of venues/events and really enjoy the relationship management when working with sporting codes and stadium hirers. The high profile stadium partner portfolio interested me and I’ve never looked back.

What’s it been like to watch Optus Stadium grow from a sandpit to the World’s Most Beautiful Stadium?

I was fortunate to tour the site with the WA Football Commission following the State Government project announcement. I remember standing outside the project site office (now Camfield Beer Garden) looking at a pile of sand and clay. The tour guide pointing out the centre circle which was marked with a road cone and I recall the ring road being marked with truck tyre tracks. A very cool experience and one I will remember forever.

A highlight of the construction period was touring the facilities with Gemma Jack each afternoon with a wad of CAD maps…We occasionally got lost or stuck in a stairwell and had no idea where we were. I remember the day we stumbled across the VenuesLive office and thought it was huge.

What has been your favourite event so far?

The Manchester United Tour is my most memorable experience at Optus Stadium. Months of intense planning, skype meetings, outrageous requests and working with different time zones all led to 10 days of the best July weather Perth has experienced.

The 2018 Preliminary Final between West Coast Eagles and Melbourne was also a special event. So much hard work went into the first AFL Season so it was nice to wrap up the year with a big win (and trip to Melbourne for the Grand Final).

Do you have any funny stories that you can share from your time at Optus Stadium?

Plenty…. Donate to my MACA Cancer Ride fundraising page and I’ll tell you one.

Tell us about that! What is it and why did you want to get involved?

The MACA Cancer 200 – Ride for Research is back in 2021 for its 10^th year! The annual ride commences in our very own Stadium Park where over 2000 riders will line up to take on the personal challenge of riding 200km in two days to fight cancer and support medical research.

All participants are required to fundraise a minimum of $2,500 for The Perkins Cancer Research. I’m riding in 2021 to support our partner MACA but also to make a difference and raise much needed money for cancer research. No other ride is more community-focused, heartfelt or inspirational than MACA Cancer 200.

Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t already know?

My chances of being drafted to West Coast were cut short when I broke both bones in my leg during the Under 15’s preliminary final in Pemberton.

What do you do to relax?

I listen to SEN and the occasional podcast while walking the dog. I enjoy the Wilosophy Series, Aunty Donna and many others.

I also enjoy mowing, watering and caring for my turf followed by a cold Gage Roads beer!

What are some of your interests outside of work?

I enjoy nice meals with my wife at one of Crown Perth’s restaurants, assisting with the occasional rebound in our social basketball team, having a punt on the footy and riding with mates while training for the 2021 MACA Cancer Ride.