Football: New chair to lead United

Paula Werahiko

Former Taradale Association Football Club stalwart Paula Werahiko is to chair Hawke's Bay United.

Werahiko replaces Bob Patterson who will remain on the board despite living in Auckland where he moved after his appointment last year.

He said that living in a different city provided its challenges.

"We are very fortunate to have someone like Paula step into the role ...

"She has been involved with football here in Hawke's Bay for a number of years, as a player but with much more success as an administrator," Patterson said.

Werahiko chairs the Hawkes Bay Regional Advisory Group (RAG's) which is now seeing results from their focus on engaging all winter clubs and the development of football alongside Central Football.

She is a past president and secretary of the Taradale club and was a committee member for 11 years before retiring last year to concentrate on Hawke's Bay United.

"There is no doubt that Paula is passionate about football here in the Bay and tirelessly works to better engage with everyone involved in the game at many levels," Patterson said.

An 11th-grade coach, Werahiko was involved with the Hawke's Bay women's team at committee level.

Werahiko is a capability (training) adviser at the Ministry of Justice where she is responsible for identifying learning and development needs across the ministry, and then sourcing solutions which are learner-focused, innovative and aligned with the strategic business plan.

She also works with the business groups to measure the effectiveness of training and is an experienced project manager.

Werahiko was also the national training adviser for Legal Aid Services and has worked in the justice sector for almost 18 years.