Biography - Henry Petersen
The 1988 NQTV $250,000 International Family Fishing Classic attracted over 3200 anglers & generated world wide media coverage for the Magnetic North Region. It won the Special Events Category at the inaugural Magnetic North Tourism Awards. Henry also just missed out on winning the award for the most outstanding contribution by an individual in promoting Tourism.
After completing his role as the onsite marketing manager for the Mystic Sands Development in 1990, which also won him several national marketing awards, he moved back to his former hometown of Ayr to develop a 7500 mango tree plantation on the banks of the Burdekin River. During this time he went on 2 Wife Hunt Safari’s which generated global media interest which inspired millions of lonely people living in many parts of the world.  
After staging 3 more $100,000 Race Days and further increasing attendance figures to almost 4000 + the event winning 3 more major marketing awards Henry handed the reigns back to the race club to go out and create and launch the 2003 Home Hill $25,000 Fashion Bash. It attracted 80 North Qld entries and 269 ticket sales as well as lots of regional media publicity. After staging 2 more annual fashion bashes’s in the Burdekin Shire it was decided in 2006 to move the event to Townsville in order to further expand its boundaries to cover all Qld.
In 2007 Henry chose Thuringowa Riverway, a $40 million state–of–the–art entertainment & outdoors recreational facility, to showcase the Fashion Bash’s 5th Birthday. With its lagoon swimming pools & idealic setting it again proved popular attracting a record 450 state wide entries. In 2008 the Fashion Bash will be launched nationally opening it up all states of Australia & it will also be telecast in the form of a 42 min doco on a Television Network for the first time. Presently 50 Qld Schools & Tertiary Training Institutes support this youth event and with the aid of a well planned national marketing campaign & the funding support of Qld Events this number is expected to rapidly grow as is its community support with so many students going on to national & international success as part of its Career Education Program which Henry created at its birth. 
In Summary, the major community events Henry has created & staged over the past 3 decades have offered almost $1.5 million in prizes, attracted thousands of entrants & has generated millions of dollars of spending & media publicity for the many industries they have promoted. His innovative creations have transformed the way many industries are being promoted & marketed today. In the Recreational Fishing & Tourism Industry we have seen the creation of many television lifestyle & adventure shows. In the Racing Industry the entertainment he created has now been successfully adopted by many race clubs all over this country. In the Fashion Industry alone 3 new Qld Fashion Events have been born in recent years as a direct result of the outstanding success of the Fashion Bash which has already produced 7 Australian Fashion Design Award winners & 8 international models. Many of his original creations have also stood the test of time. In 2008 The Kids Fishing Classic he originally created back in 1987 in Townsville will become 21 years of age. The Burdekin Grower Race Day will celebrate its 10th Birthday & the Fashion Bash will turn 6 yrs old. This is the real testament to his creative marketing ability.
World Model’s Day Celebrations + the Great Aussie Opal Hunt will be his latest marketing creations to be launched @ the 2008 NOMA $100,000 Opal Fashion Bash & one quick look into what he is planning to stage here will tell you that it will defiantly thrust models & opals into the national media spotlight. Knowing how Henry’s mind thinks one would not be surprised to see a few supermodels turn up for his World’s Biggest Models BBQ Breakfast Party or witness viewing some of the most expensive opal gemstones ever discovered in Australia’s famed opal mining regions. One thing is certain to all the people who turn up to support these 2 new events. They will experience the same fun & excitement that all Henry’s community events are now famed for & most likely some of them will certainly go back home to tell others of the amazing adventure they just experienced. In 2008 Henry will celebrate his 25th year in the creative marketing & community events industries! |
Henry Petersen celebrated his 21st year in 2007 as one of Australia’s most successful community event organisers. In 1986 he founded Henry Petersen Promotions and its first community event was staged in Thuringowa. The 1986 Balgal Beach $50,000 Tag Fish Competition attracted 700 anglers and scored 2 ABC TV National News Bulletins. He then went on to stage 3 more world class Recreational Family Fishing Classics that offered a combined total of over $550,000 in prize money.
The $100,000 Fashion Bash Townsville was another instant hit attracting over 350 entries, 800 ticket sales. Its prize money was the richest ever offered for a student fashion challenge in the world. It again generated many tens of thousands of dollars in both regional and national media publicity with 33 media houses supporting the event. The remarkable growth figures this event had recorded in the space of a little over 3 yrs was truly amazing and is again testament to the creative marketing ability of its founder.
No matter what the challenge Henry faces in any industry he so chooses to promote he always seems to have the creative marketing ability to be able to turn a negative situation into a positive one, He has inspired millions of persons around the world by demonstrating that anything is achievable if one has the ability to create something that others just normally can only dream about. His future plans once the Fashion Bash becomes a global student fashion challenge in 2010 is to take some time out to concentrate on polishing up his creative writing skills & write a few books on some of the amazing adventures he has been on. Many close friends have jokingly told him his publishing’s will have to be listed as “Fiction” as few people could possibly believe so many his promotional gimmicks he created could have ever brought so much laughter & joy into so many millions of people’s lives throughout the world.