Action man fosters fitness zest

FOR an active, sports-minded person such as Wayne Werder, leading Sport Bay of Plenty is a dream job.
"Having loved sport all my life, it is a dream come true to have a job in such a vibrant and healthy industry, where there is so much passion and energy," Wayne says.
Everybody he works with, from the staff at Sport Bay of Plenty to the various stakeholders with whom he interacts, is as passionate about sport, recreation and good health as he is.
"That in itself is very motivating. I particularly enjoy all the good-news stories of where sport and recreation has helped to build and grow communities and individuals."
But being chief executive of Sport Bay of Plenty is not without its difficulties and Wayne's greatest challenge is one that will sound familiar to everybody working in the not-for-profit sector.
"You always want to be able to do more, but finding sustainable funding sources is constantly a challenge."
This is particularly true in today's economic environment and he says ensuring sport and recreation remains a priority for cash-strapped cities and regions is a key challenge at the moment.
Wayne is proud of how Sport Bay of Plenty has managed to grow in the past few years, particularly in Rotorua and the Eastern Bay of Plenty, despite these adverse economic conditions.
"When I first started we had only two people working across these areas.
"Now we have a vast array of programmes and relationships servicing a wide range of the community."
Feedback from stakeholders has been positive, which he says is encouraging and a key indicator of whether the organisation is adding value.
Fitness has always been important to Wayne, from his first job as a paper boy.
"That was great for fitness, but it also taught me things like time management - making sure you were on time for the delivery van, accuracy - not getting any dreaded pink slips for missing a house, and the value of saving the hard-earned pay - which was about $1.20 a week, from memory."
Such lessons have served him well throughout his career, from his eight years as a professional squash player, through into general management roles with Squash New Zealand and Squash Auckland and as a trade analyst for Bluebird Foods.
Now the ball is very much back in his court as the Sport Bay of Plenty chief executive, where he is sharing his passion for health, activity and wellbeing with an entire region.