Increasing diversity to reflect community

New members: Appointed to the Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti board are (from left) Belinda Mackay, Alice Pettigrew and Tui Babbington.Picture supplied

THREE new members have been appointed to the Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti board.

This followed the resignation of Mayor Rehette Stoltz last year, and a decision by the board to increase the number of its members.

The board appointed Tui Babbington, Belinda Mackay and Alice Pettigrew as new members, bringing the board membership to 10 — six men and four women.

Self-employed contractor Tui Babbington said she was grateful for the opportunity as a young member to get board exposure and work alongside a strong and passionate team of community leaders.

Babbington, of Ngati Porou descent, is a mother with international and local experience in project management and economic development. She is leading two projects approved by the Provincial Growth Fund.

Babbington’s passion lies on the East Coast and in seeing rangatahi and tamariki (young people and children) thrive in their environment.

Belinda Mackay, owner of dnature diagnostics & research, a DNA diagnostic business founded 10 years ago, joins the board to provide marketing and business expertise. Belinda is also a trustee of Eat Smart Tairawhiti and a board member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Before moving to Gisborne, Belinda worked in consumer goods and strategic marketing roles in Auckland for multinational companies that included Nestlé and Fonterra.

Mackay, a mother of three, believes that while competitive sport is great for building self-esteem and resilience, participation in sport is equally important.

“I’m particularly keen to see the rate of sports participation among our teens improve,” she said.

“Along with physical activity, I’m interested in health and nutrition and how these factors contribute to overall wellbeing.”

Alice Pettigrew, business development general manager at Eastland Group, is looking forward to giving back to the region at a governance level through the experience she has gained in her career.

Uawa-raised Pettigrew began her career overseas in finance roles in Australia and the UK, before returning in 2005 to Gisborne, where she started her family and continued working in finance and commercial roles.

Pettigrew has an interest in the community facilities review and looks forward to supporting the outcomes and development of facilities in our region.

“I do believe we have a real opportunity to provide best-of-class facilities and to share the operational and administrative functions across multiple clubs with the primary objective of reducing costs for these small, generally volunteer-led clubs and organisations,” Pettigrew said.

Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti board chairman Steve Berezowski said the range of knowledge and experiences these “highly skilled women” brought to the table would add value to and strengthen the board.

Berezowski, Te Wharau School principal, said the new members would increase the board diversity to reflect the community they served.