“I put my hand up for that Saturday,” she said.
It never occurred to her that she would still be there in 2021.
Her first memories of the market go back to her basil pesto stall.
“It used to be frantic for about 45 minutes.
“It was a bit like the flea market.”
Mrs Gregory said she became a committee member about 18 months to two years after begining her stall.
Her role has since developed, as the Farmers' Market has, into the market manager.
Today the market can boast up to 40 or 45 stalls (during summer) as public awareness of issues such as food origin, food miles and methods of growing increases.
Her tasks as market manager include communicating with vendors, site planning, social media and appearing on More FM Breakfast with Bevan Chapman on Fridays to promote the market.
The complexity of her role has increased with the requirements of Covid-19 alert levels.
Farmers' Market chairman Matt Carter said Mrs Gregory had been a hard-working manager, linking the market with vendors and the public during a period of significant growth.
It had not been easy to comply with Covid restrictions such as the need for single entry, restricted customer numbers and use of the QR Covid tracer sytem.
Road management and resource consent requirements to allow the market to use the end of Stout Street had been a lengthy and costly process, but had added greatly to the market.
“I'm sorry to see her go.”
Mrs Gregory said her annual appearances at the Farmers' Market New Zealand conference left her in no doubt how the Gisborne market compared to others.
“I can honestly say we may not be the best market, but we are one of the best because of the diverse range of product.”
The range of locally-grown produce included fruit, vegetables, baking, preserves, honey, cheese, fish, plants and flowers. Coffee was also available as value-added product, as it was locally roasted, she said.
Mrs Gregory will still be available to help her successor Juanita Lambert.
She has moved on to a real estate agency as personal assistant and administrator.
