New TECT trustees voted in

Amanda Sutcliffe, Natalie Bridges and Bill Holland were voted in as TECT trustees in the latest elections. PHOTO/FILE

Two new female faces will join a previously all male TECT trustee board.

TECT election results announced yesterday saw Bill Holland easily hold his seat on the board. Newcomers Amanda Sutcliffe and Natalie Bridges were also elected.

They beat out eight other candidates in the election, which had the highest voter turnout since 2008, at 30 per cent.

Bill Holland, a local lawyer, has been a trustee since August 2012 and TECT chairperson since 2014.

He said it was good to have smart, young women added to the board, which had been previously dominated by men.

"It's new blood, and both are very capable women."

Amanda Sutcliffe was a chartered accountant who owned her own business and Natalie Bridges owned local public relations company Blink PR.

"TECT is very lucky to have these two women on board," Mr Holland said.

As for standing again himself, Mr Holland said there was always more to be done.

"I stood four years ago and there have been significant changes and I'm enjoying those changes. "

In the last two years TECT had become more proactive, and was no longer a "reactive grant maker".

"We're taking a more proactive role in promoting what is good in Tauranga," Mr Holland said.

As a result of the TECT board's terms of appointment, two existing trustees stood down - Ken Collings and Bruce Cronin.

"These guys had been on for many years and they served very well so in order to have some ongoing stability it was good I was standing."

The high voter turnout was pleasing to see, Mr Holland said.

"Normally people only get out and vote if they have concerns about something, if they are worried or things are going badly.

"So to get such a high polling when things are going really well, I think it's a good reflection on TECT and what they're doing."

The vote for him was an endorsement of what the trustees were already doing, he believed.

Amanda Sutcliffe said she was grateful for the opportunity.

"Thank you to all the people who voted for me.

"I'm looking forward to working with the current trustees and learning from their experience," Ms Sutcliffe said.

She said she could not have picked better people to work with.

Texting the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend from London, England Natalie Bridges said she was grateful to be elected on to such an important trust for the Bay of Plenty region.

"It will be a privilege to serve on TECT and be a part of its future direction," she wrote.

TECT had assets of about $800 million, and aside from the TECT cheque it handed out to Trustpower consumers, it also gave out $10 million a year to community groups, projects and organisations.