Napier identity Graeme Taylor appointed to Sport Hawke’s Bay

Napier identity Graeme Taylor appointed to Sport Hawke’s Bay board at AGM

Napier City Councillor Graeme Taylor has been appointed to the board of Sport Hawke’s Bay at its Annual General Meeting today.

Mr Taylor is a second term Taradale Ward councillor and has a strong sports background. He has been chief executive of Sport Wanganui and the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation and is the general manager of Napier District Masonic Trust.

He was also the Hawke’s Bay Magpies coach and an assistant coach for the Hurricanes in the 90s.
Sport Hawke’s Bay chairman Damon Harvey said the board was thrilled to have someone of Graeme’s calibre join the board.

“Graeme is very well respected within the sport community both locally and nationally. He also gives us an additional connection with Napier City Council and Napier residents.”

Sport Hawke’s Bays constitution doesn’t provide for council appointees to the board, however Mr Taylor’s appointment further strengthens the Regional Sport Trusts relationship with Napier City Council, complementing the connection the trust has with Hastings District Council through Malcolm Dixon and Mr Harvey’s roles as Hastings District Councillors.

Sport Hawke’s Bay chief executive Mark Aspden said there had been many operational highlights during the last year as well as a “steadying of the ship” following some key appointments.

“In the last financial year we reported a larger than expected financial surplus but that wasn’t a true reflection of our position as we had periods without key personnel including the chief executive and commercial manager positions.”

“In the 2015/16 financial year we budgeted for an operating loss of $5169 but achieved an operating surplus of $4382, which was pleasing result, particularly as changes to Accounting Standards resulted in some of our 2015/16 revenue being re-allocated to prior periods.”

Mr Aspden signalled that the organisation has also entered into a new four-year funding contract with Sport New Zealand which is slightly reduced from the previous term.

“Like many organisations in the sporting sector we are finding funds increasingly difficult to attract. We will continue to manage expenses closely and we will look to develop new revenue streams so that we can maximise the services we provide to the region.

“We were particularly pleased to welcome SBS Bank as our new major sponsor in 2016 and the partnership is working very well for both parties. We are also pleased that Hastings District Council has increased its support to enable us to do more with low participation communities in Hastings.”

“And at Wairoa Community Centre, we are pleased that the new Learn to Swim pool, which Wairoa District Council funded, has already proved to be very popular with the local community.”

Mr Harvey said the board has signed off its 2017-2020 Strategic Plan which will focus strongly on getting more Hawke’s Bay people active, more often; supporting community sport through schools and clubs as well as improving decision making on key regional issues affecting the sector.

“We are excited about the new strategy which aims to ensure Hawke’s Bay residents have a life-long love of sport and physical activity.”

“We have some challenges especially in the poorer than national average health statistics to overcome. We also need to continue to influence good decision making around the development of sport infrastructure in the region.

As a Regional Sports Trust we are excited about the opportunities ahead, including the redevelopment of the Pettigrew.Green Arena into a regional indoor facility, new swimming facilities in Napier and a community health and fitness centre with high performance facilities at the Regional Sport Park in Hastings.

Mr Harvey noted some key changes on the board during the year with Kevin Tamati, Tanya Dearns, Caroline McElnay, Roger Aranui and Richard Hill all stepping down. The AGM was also the last for Kirsten Westwood.

In addition to Graeme Taylor’s appointment both Naomi Fergusson and Aayden Clarke as the Ngāti Kahungunu representative have joined the Board over the last six months.

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