The National AGM was held 20th April 2018 at National Office in Penrose Auckland and made available via web-conferencing for members and staff to join remotely.
Members and supporters were in attendance, including special guest Andy Sinclair, General Manager of Hyundai NZ, former National Council Chairperson Helen Melrose and outgoing Rangatahi Representative Olivia Shivas.
Ken Green presented his Chairperson’s Report, sharing a treasured family heirloom, a bugle given to his Grandfather during World War 1, from his fellow bugler who served in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. The Bible refers to blowing trumpets to summon the people and to break camp, and Ken used this as a metaphor of calling our members not only to the AGM but to the organisation. He also made reference to the Maori contingent who inscribed on the bugle ‘Kia kaha, kia toa’, be strong be brave. He added a third message ‘kia manawanui’, reminding the organisation and its leaders to be strong, be brave, be steadfast.
Ken reiterated that MDANZ is only here for its members and that they are the highest priority. He acknowledged the significant increase in member engagement this year, through the fieldworkers, branches and events held for members, many of which he has attended.
Brian Hadley presented the financial report, and the final group result saw a $2668 surplus for the year. This is a great result and significant turnaround from the previous year.
Ronelle Baker presented the Chief Executive’s report, expressing pride in what MDANZ have achieved, with hard work and a goal oriented approach by the team. She acknowledged the mana enhancing stories of our members that reflect who we are and what we stand for. She signaled that we need to continue to live our core values and develop our organisational infrastructure with robustness to provide quality assurance to our stakeholders. We also need to continue to provide opportunities to bring people together – this is where the magic happens.
The outcome of the National Council elections was announced. Three nominations were received for the three vacant positions available, therefore the nominees were elected unopposed and no vote was needed.
Newly elected councillors are:
Scott Laurenson (Kaitaia) – Councillor at Large
Brent Walker (Hamilton) - Councillor at Large
Scott Boyle (Christchurch) – Rangatahi Representative
It was also noted that Andrew Willetts has replaced Robbie Verhoef as Southern Branch Representative and Andrew Munro will replace Warren Hall as Canterbury Branch Representative.
Formal business was followed by engaging presentations by Shelby Taylor and Miriam Hanna – both recipients of a Post Graduate scholarship from our research trust, Tonya Baker speaking about the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Hillary Award programme and Russell Just speaking about the fundraising partnership between Community Power and MDANZ.
To view the 2017 annual report, click here.
In March each year we call for nominations to fill positions on National Council, as elected members reach the end of their two year term. Elected members can stand for re-election, however all people wanting to stand for National Council must meet eligibility criteria, complete an official nomination form and be nominated and seconded by current members of MDANZ.
Nominations are now closed.
If more nominations are received than positions available, we will conduct a ballot to elect National Council members. Only formally registered members of MDANZ may vote during National Council elections. Friends of the Association may not. Only Rangatahi members aged 16-25 years may vote for the Rangatahi Representative.
If you are interested in the role of the National Council and would like to find out more, please contact the Chief Executive at National Office by phoning 0800 800 337 or email us at [email protected].