Iwi Chairs wānanga. Photo / Supplied
It's been a busy first month for our newly elected Chairman of the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) Board, Bayden Barber.
He has swam, biked and run in many Iron Māori events, and here, in his new role, he has grabbed the baton in (what seemed like slow motion) and has been running, sometimes on the spot as he has somewhat paused to scan the horizon to forge his way into his new role.
On the night of the NKII Election announcement, I remember saying to Bayden's sweetheart Myra, "Bayden better get his skates on".
To be honest, I think I said that out of shock that Ngahiwi didn't get back in.
That night as Board and Staff members joined Ngahiwi and Mere and their whanau at Clubs Hastings for a few glasses of tears and sorrow, Ngahiwi told us all to stop crying and "look forward and do your best for our iwi and stay focused on the kaupapa".
Over the weeks that followed, heart ache and anxiety was replaced with courage and strength. And this strength has continued to grow as we have slowly embraced Bayden and accepted to get over ourselves.
To be honest, it's been quite refreshing to observe Bayden's young, yet energetic leadership as the new kid on the block. It has been admirable actually. I've since asked myself, "Who in their right mind would ever want to be a leader of an iwi, give of your time and energy, day in, day out, headache after headache, hui after hui?
I mean, it's not a glorious job, the pay isn't that great, and let's face it, you go home drained, overworked, unappreciated and sometimes resentful… Oh, um, no, ooops, sorry, that's me getting personal.
No, seriously, to be absolutely honest, it has been humbling as I have observed, as a bug on the wall, (a very big bug), this eager, energetic, enthusiastic, young fit and healthy husband and father, share his wings with the iwi and fly. What I should have said to Myra that night was, "Thank you Myra for sharing your husband with the iwi."
Needless to say, Bayden has managed well to navigate his way to, through and over the Ngāti Kahungunu confidence course wall, crawled through the sawdust, lifted the tyres, climbed the ropes and come through the processes of loyal guards, even accepted slower internet and sometimes drop offs from his end of the office and we are slowly accepting and adjusting nicely.
His navigation skills aren't bad at all. He needs support and guidance from all ways. Already I know how he does and doesn't think about certain logistics and planning when he makes a decision, but hey, those are little things we can tweak.
If anything we need to protect him from sprinting too fast and far ahead in this iwi marathon because some things, although they seem rosy on the outside, have years of wild weeds ready to spring up when you least expect it.
Like a good gardener, it's all about timing, the right season, soil and even the weed spray, but like a good caretaker, consistent management.
On 10 June, just an hour after the pōhiri, all Board members including Bayden, were swiftly pulled away from Waipatu Marae to the NKII office to meet each other and dive straight into an introduction and induction of the Board roles and responsibilities.
Bayden took over the reins and chaired his first meeting, first appointing a deputy chair - JB Heperi-Smith.
Some of the agenda items were heavy, nonetheless, they were dealt with accordingly in an enhancing manner. Soon after that meeting, Bayden summed up the way he would like future meetings to flow, tweaking the agenda slightly to ensure Board members have ample time to address the Board and report on the issues from their Taiwhenua and their respective areas of interest. This coming Friday will be his first full Board meeting as Chair.
These bi-monthly Board meetings are held on the last Friday of every second month, usually starting at 9am and finishing early afternoon to give Board members who travel from afar, plenty of time to travel home.
These meetings are usually public, however in these Covid and uncertain times meetings have been held in the NKII Board room for the minimum amount of Board members to make a quorum.
If you are interested in NKII Board meetings, please contact your Taiwhenua representative to give you an update on the discussion. We are also looking to implement the Board Summary that will be disseminated through the 'Panui ki te iwi' communication email network.