• Immediate Past President, Aidan Bennett with Incoming President, Phil Brosnan

Changing of the Guard

North Harbour Club Annual General Meeting, Wednesday July 25th 2018

On Wednesday July 25th the North Harbour Club and Charitable Trust hosted the Annual General Meeting at the Milford Cruising Club. It was a very special meeting followed by a celebration 'After5' hosted by Benefitz for their 30th Birthday Party.

Key constitution changes made in 2015/2016 resulted in a more regular rotation of office holders – Trustees, Vice President and President. As a result we are planning well for the future in bringing on new trustees who are real contributors.

At this 2018 AGM both Mark Jago and Hugh Stedman stood down from the Trust Board (in addition to Andrea Davies, who stood down mid-term when she left her role at Massey University in late 2017). Their great contributions were well acknowledged by outgoing president Aidan Bennett.

"Mark has continued the Jago family’s strong support of the North Harbour Club as a Trustee and Hugh Stedman has been a wealth of knowledge and passion," said Aidan. "We brought him back for his experience a few years ago and we also got a load of energy. Andrea provided great balance to the board representing Massey and the tertiary education sector. She was an AIMES Awards judge for many years and was superb as Chair of the Judging Panel for three years."

Aidan Bennett, was also standing down after three years in the Presidents role. He reflected on his term and those who had come before him.

"It is a role I have cherished, but having done the three years I firmly believe that this is long enough. It is now time for a change. The late Ross Finlayson was an inspirational figure for me. I think back warmly to the trustee meetings and think-tanks we used to have around Ross and Joan’s dining room table in Shakespeare Road. Back then I was the nervous newbie with all these strong leaders who were charting the course. Peter Wall was one of those people and went on to be a wonderful president of the club for many years. Then there are people like Bob Jago, Professor Ian Watson and co-founder John Bishop. Our third president Matthew Bellingham continues to give to the club in a big way. I also want to reserve a special mention for Gary Monk. I met Gary through the club 20-plus years ago and he is now a firm friend. Like me, he is passionate about what we do and contributes in ways the majority of people here would not know about. He won’t want me to name all these things he does, but they are financial, they are with passion, they are with wisdom, and they are always with energy."

With the retirements from the Trust Board, the members unanimously agreed to support four new nominations:

President - Phil Brosnan
Vice President - Tammy McLeod

Trustees - Daryl Devereux & Shane Cortese

Aidan Bennett had this to say in his closing statement as president. "I am thrilled to be handing the reigns over to Phil (Brosnan) tonight. He has been a wonderful trustee since he came on board around a decade ago and has really supported me as the Vice President these past three years. He has been always willing to challenge, not always agreeing, but always supporting and we worked well together. The success of the club is testament to that. I have no doubt this success will continue under Phil’s watch. He is a winner."

Michelle & Aidan Bennett Aidan Bennett being presented with this acknowledgement gift by Phil Brosnan.

 

Incoming President, Phil Brosnan, was honoured to be taking on the role. "Aidan has been at the forefront of many changes during his tenure, including the new Junior Excellence Award category, taking over management of the North Harbour Business Hall of Fame Awards, increasing our grants gifted to young people and working hard to increase our AIMES Alumni involvement. I have big shoes to fill!"

Looking forward to the next three years, Phil is looking to focus on four key points - Building the clubs awareness with young people, ensuring a highly engaged membership, continuing to delivery desirable events and that our grant funds remain sustainable and not to exceed club earnings.

Thank you Aidan, Mark, Hugh & Andrea for your dedication to the club – and best of luck to our new officers, Phil, Tammy, Daryl and Shane.