More than four decades ago a Te Awamutu teenager took the opportunity to turn a school holiday job at the dairy factory into a successful career in the corporate world.
Shane Walsh had been working at the Te Awamutu Dairy Factory in his last year at high school
and was offered a cadetship – attending Massey University during the academic year and working at the factory during holidays.
That led to a number of opportunities within the NZ Dairy Group, including heading a couple of Waikato's plants – then executive and senior management roles both nationally and internationally for the likes of Sanford Ltd and International Nutrition Company, Shanghai.
He continued his own higher education and gained an MBA (with distinction) from Waikato University.
Recently Shane, and his wife Paula (nee Williams), also of Te Awamutu, returned to their hometown and both are keen to make a positive contribution to the town and community.
Shane has been using his extensive business knowledge by volunteering his time to help business owners as a business mentor and recently he was appointed a trustee on the Waipā Community Facilities Board.
He is also involved with Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce and has been appointed interim chief executive on a fixed six month term, covering maternity leave.
The chamber's board is delighted to have someone with Shane's experience and knowledge to fill the role.
Shane believes local business and the community benefit from an inspiring and vibrant Chamber of Commerce.
"I look forward to working with the board to grow membership by creating a chamber that local business owners are excited to be part of because they believe it adds value," he says.
"Thriving Te Awamutu businesses benefit the whole community."
He is also representing the chamber as it works alongside Te Awamutu Community Board on a branding project.
The initial discussion came about last year when he and Paula presented to the board at a meeting.
Shane says Paula did most of the talking as she was concerned about the appearance of Te Awamutu's main street and thought we should be able to do much better.
"Follow up meetings with board chair Ange Holt resulted in a decision to undergo a branding exercise," says Shane.
"It made sense that before we tried to design a CBD that worked for Te Awamutu, we should understand who we are."
The chamber and board formed a working committee to drive the project.
Shane understands Te Awamutu has looked at this issue before, but is concerned it may not have been far reaching enough.
"I called on people with experience and knowledge about branding, including some ex-Te Awamutu people, to come up with a plan," says Shane.
"It is clear we need to start by knowing who we are – right now."
