Alan Jamieson has been re-elected as chair of the Taranaki Electricity Trust (TET) board at the AGM this month.
Alan was elected unopposed by the six trustees, with Mike Davey nominated and elected unopposed for the role of deputy chairperson.
In May this year, a coin toss determined which of the two men would take the role of chair, when the role became vacant following the resignation of former chairperson John Campbell. At the time, both men had received the same number of votes from their fellow trustees resulting in the coin toss decider.
Five months later, the coin still lies on the table.
"I don't think it will ever be moved," says Alan.
This time, with unanimous votes for both chair and deputy, the trustees were able to get on quickly with their general business - awarding discretionary grants to applicants from within the old Taranaki Electric Power Board district.
The trust meets each month, considering applications from groups and individuals.
In October's general meeting, which took place directly after the AGM, trustees agreed on a total of $846,684 to be given out.
Not every application was approved however, with each application required to meet a range of criteria and to fit into various budgets.
Some applications were declined because trustees had already committed the maximum amount to health or education that month, while others were declined on the basis of a lack of information from the applications, or the project not fitting the TET criteria for grants.
The largest amount granted in October's meeting was $200,000 to Tūtaki Youth Inc, a not-for-profit, charitable organisation focused on creating positive life outcomes for young people and their families.
The smallest individual grants agreed upon at October's meeting were grants of $500 each to a couple of kindergartens.
"We have funded a range of things through the years, from sandpits and new deck areas through to helping organisations provide invaluable services the communities they serve," says Alan.
Mike says the six trustees, three elected from each of the two wards, work well together. The deputy role had previously been held by Ken Bedford, who while remaining a trustee for the next year chose not to stand for deputy at the AGM.
Ken has said he doesn't plan to seek re-election as a trustee in 2020 when voters will elect trustees to serve the next three-year term.