DEFEND

10.10.2004Defend celebrated at the Dobris Chateau

On Thursday, October 9, the Dobris Chateau played host to the employees of our company and their distinguished guests. In beautiful historical rooms we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Defend Lock brand in the CR, and reminded ourselves of the 100th anniversary of the inventiveness and quality of work of our forebears.

Immediately upon entering the grounds, where participants were personally greeted by the company’s founders, Messrs. Horak and Vojtek with their wives, the atmosphere of the beginning of the 20th Century descended on all present. Young ladies in period costumes distributed flowers to the women and for the men a special issue of the Defend newspaper in period graphical design. Historical “bonerattler” bicycles and a horse-drawn carriage drove around the courtyard.
The historical atmosphere was further enhanced by period music provided by a women’s string quartet in period costumes, which enticed guests into the beautifully groomed chateau garden. The reminder of life at the chateau 100 years ago wasn’t a coincidence. In its courtyard, in front of the eyes of the celebration’s participants, a master blacksmith finished a replica of one of the first vehicle security devices – at that time still mostly drawn by horses. Apparently sometime about 100 years ago, such a mechanical locking system was already in use at the Dobris Chateau to secure coaches’ handbrake against thieves. With the demonstration of its replica, we wanted to point out its connection to modern versions of this system, which currently best prove themselves in our Defend brand.
The celebration’s participants were reminded of this connection both by articles in the aforementioned Defend newspaper, and by a contest named Key Walk. During its course, each guest could try to open with this Defend Lock key, which he had received upon arrival, one of ten boxes located in the period rooms of the chateau or the garden, and thus obtain a “gold key”. This key then enabled one to win one of 10 attractive prizes. In the end the luckiest was Veronika Prochazkova from Zlin, who took home with her our company’s newest product – the Defend Locator. The same prize was also won by Pavel Kubat from Syrovice, who won in a contest for readers of our Defend Magazine.
A musical bridge between historical and contemporary times was successfully built by a jazz group or large musical revue performed by singers from the leading Prague musical theatres. Lovers of folklore, on the other hand, had the opportunity to sing along with a band from Kyjov, Moravia, or dance at the night-time discotheque. When the event’s MC, Jan Kovarik said goodbye to the last guests in the wee hours of Friday morning, he wished the Defend brand that it – like automobile security systems – successfully live to celebrate one hundred years.