Waikato Business News April/May 2019

More documents

Recommendations

Info

52 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2019 Changes at the top Region’s population growth challenges high on agenda for new hospice chair Addressing the challenges – and the opportunities – that the region’s burgeoning population growth brings is high on Hospice Waikato’s new board chair’s agenda. Margaret Devlin has taken the reins from Alastair Calder who is stepping down. Hospice Waikato chief executive Craig Tamblyn said the organisation’s success is because it is always evolving to best meet the ongoing challenges. “We’re hugely grateful to Alastair for his contribution. He’s guided Hospice Waikato to where it is today, establishing a very solid foundation for the future.” Calder has been a trustee since 2005 and board chair since 2010. “He’s seen us through substantial growth and restructure, as Hospice Waikato moved from a cottage industry to now being the second largest palliative care specialist in the country.” Devlin is now tasked with ensuring Hospice Waikato continues to meet the region’s palliative care needs into the future. “We have to ensure we have an organisation that is always fit for purpose and for the future, so we’ll be taking the opportunity to look at our strategy,” Devlin said. “We have an opportunity to ask how we can best deliver our services and to still be innovative in how we do that.” “It’s not an ageing population that we are concerned about because people of any age come through the service. Instead, it’s about understanding the marketplace, understanding the demographic, in a growing region with growing population to ensure that the service we provide is appropriate for the people who need it.” About 70 percent of Hospice Waikato’s revenue comes from the Waikato DHB, with the balance stemming from its commercial arm – its fundraiser events such as the Bucket List Banquet, and second-hand stores – which accounts for around $4.6 million a year. “From a business perspective it makes sense for us to look at our commercial arm and to see if there are better ways to do that, and whether we need to further diversify our revenue streams to ensure our long-term financial sustainability. Because what it boils down to is that we want to ensure this service remains completely free to every person and their families who Craig Tamblyn and Margaret Devlin. need it,” Devlin said. The region’s population surge in the past five years, driven primarily by Auckland house prices, isn’t likely to slow down soon. With new transport corridors set to open and businesses looking to move their operations to the regions to tap into affordable housing and transport hubs, Hospice Waikato is mindful of how it can continue to deliver services to a growing population. Part of that, Devlin said, is also about telling Hospice Waikato’s story. “The services we provide isn’t just for people with cancer; it’s for people with any life limiting illness. And it’s certainly not just about what we do at [the inpatient unit or Rainbow Place] at Cobham Drive. “We work with families all around Waikato and because no two people… no two families are ever the same, the work we do is tailored to what they need. And we need to tell people that. We need to tell those stories about what we do and the difference that we make.” Devlin is a professional company director with extensive governance and executive experience in the water and infrastructure sector both in New Zealand and UK. She serves on a wide range of boards throughout New Zealand with a particular focus on people and culture. She is an active and vocal supporter of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. New chief executive appointed to Ultrafast Fibre John Hanna has been appointed as the chief executive of WEL Group’s 100 per cent community-owned fibre business Ultrafast Fibre Limited (UFF), replacing William Hamilton who retired in September. WEL chairman Rob Campbell said Hanna will start in the role on June 4, and thanked Geoff Lawrie for his contribution as interim chief executive. Lawrie will now step back from this executive role and focus on his independent non-executive directorship of both WEL and UFF. “We have been able to secure John who is a highly experienced New Zealand chief executive with a strong track record in the technology sector,” Campbell said. “John was the CEO of Network for Learning from 2012- 17, the CEO of Maxnet from 2009-12 having been the chief operating officer of Simpl from 2006-08. Earlier roles included senior executive positions in IBM, Computerland and Sol- Net Limited in New Zealand and Australia.” Hanna is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, a trustee of the Professionelle Foundation (a charitable trust supporting professional women in all stages of their career), chair of the Eat Right be Right Trust, and a trustee of the Bright Future Trust. “John joins Ultrafast Fibre at a very exciting time with continued customer focus on the rapid migration from copper to fibre, and as we prepare to deliver unbundled access to the UFB network,” Campbell said. Meanwhile, as New Zealand gears up for its largest ever festival of innovation this May, Ultrafast Fibre is the platinum sponsor of the Te Waka event series in Waikato. “We are a proud regionally-based and community-owned business, supporting more than 120,000 customer connections on our fibre network across the central North Island,” Lawrie said. “Geography should never be a barrier to participation in our growing tech industry, and this is an opportunity for us to ensure our local communities can access and participate in Techweek events.” The theme for Techweek19 is “innovation that's good for the world”, with a focus on how New Zealanders can find and create solutions to some of Creative Waikato searching for new CEO Creative Waikato has started a search for a new CEO. That follows the resignation of inaugural CEO Sarah Nathan, whose last day with the organisation will be July 5. Nathan is moving to London where she has accepted a position as global marketing and business development manager with CharcoalBlue. Creative Waikato Board chair Amanda Hema said Nathan has played a pivotal role in establishing and growing Creative Waikato. “She has certainly left a positive mark that will be felt for many years to come. “While our board and staff are sad to see Sarah depart, we are focused on the future the world’s biggest challenges. “Despite Waikato recently being named the fastest-growing tech region in New Zealand, we know there is still work to be done around access, and it starts in our own backyard,” said chief operations officer Richard Riley. “Ultrafast Fibre has committed to an ambitious work programme for 2019, which includes a suite of innovative approaches to support digital inclusion across regional New Zealand.” Visit www.cultivateit.nz/ TechWeek for the full programme of events and further information. as we prepare to welcome a new leader at the helm who will help us continue our important work of building capability within Waikato’s creative sector. “Creative Waikato recently revised its 10-year vision. With this new focus in mind, we believe this time in Creative Waikato’s history is a wonderful opportunity for a new CEO to pick up the mantle and bring our new vision to life.” Headquartered in Hamilton, Creative Waikato was established in 2012 and works to build capability within the region’s creative sector. It provides support to artists, connects organisations to encourage collaboration, promotes Waikato’s creative sector and is an advocate for the arts community.
CHILD FOCUS WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2019 53 Learning to read is not a natural skill. Some children find it easier than others Learning to speak is a natural skill, but learning to read and write is not. Some children certainly find it easier than others. What we know for certain is that it is not ok for us to leave reading to chance. It is not developmental, and comments such as “he’s a boy, it will come,” are not helpful. Are you a parent? Do you have that inkling that something is not quite right in terms of your child’s ability to read and write? Your child has strengths in some areas but seems to have significant challenges in others? They have such great ideas and vocabulary. Perhaps the story below resonates with you? Whilst at kindy, a four year old drew a freehand diagram of how he wished the playground be organised. The diagram American Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Tap, Contemporary, Musical Theatre - 3 years to adult. Term 2 begins on Monday 29 April. Please enrol early. Learn in a caring, positive, joyful, inclusive and successful studio culture. You are welcome to visit our upmarket facility. We have highly trained was specific. It appeared to the naked eye to be drawn to scale and also displayed the talent he possessed. This little man was able to explore his interests, to show his ability to learn and to interact with the world around him. His kindy teachers suitably impressed with his ability, were very excited for his pending entry through the school gate. Armed with a giant smile, supportive family and a persistent speech impediment in tow his school days began… Year one ended and (not for the lack of trying) he hadn’t learnt teachers, superb exam results, the biggest range of top-quality syllabi, and fabulous endof-year Shows. Teaching standards are extremely high, and exams are moderated by external experts. It’s a great place to be. We have the best facilities in the region - a new, custom-designed, 4-studio complex, with to read, year two ended and (not for the lack of trying) he hadn’t learnt to read, year four ended and (not for the lack of trying) he hadn’t learnt to read, and so it goes. At ten years of age he was diagnosed as a bright dyslexic. Finally, he and his family had some insight and understanding as to why he had such great difficulty learning to read, write and spell. But… ten years old is too late. Five whole years of schooling had conditioned him to believe he was dumb, unable to learn and that he would never learn to read. This story is not unique by any means. This little man didn’t ‘not learn’ for lack of trying nor commitment on behalf of his teachers, parents and others. It was certainly not a case of…. “he wasn’t ready”. To this day he would be illiterate if they had taken the ‘wait to sprung floors, commercial air conditioning, a separate ventilation system, wall-length safety mirrors, double ballet barres, with the latest health and safety features, viewing areas, and free parking. We’ve been in Hamilton for 30 years. Weekend classes are available. Class sizes are limited. Fees are paid by the term. fail’ approach any longer. There were an increasing number of chinks in his education chain. So many so that it he may never catch his peers. As a parent of a dyslexic teenager and leader in education I find myself investigating; why haven’t we learnt from these endless experiences and stories? What haven’t we taken notice of from the mountain of international research and evidence? How might we go about improving our system for these children who were in fact born dyslexic, (identifiable on school entry if not before)? Why in New Zealand do we continue to ignore what the science of learning to read tells us? Why do we hold so dearly and continue to fund reading recovery when the research this was founded on has been superseded with many findings indicating the Jazz Unlimited Dance Studio programmes inappropriateness for dyslexic students. New Zealand teachers are committed to say the least. Our students and teachers require more though. The following would be a fine start or progression for those on this journey: • Early identification philosophy in place - not waiting until 7 for an official diagnosis • School Entry assessments which inform teaching and learning steps and relate to early signs of dyslexia • Professional Learning - Structured Multisensory Literacy • Implementation of funded evidence based teaching approaches • Elimination of funding for non evidence based approaches / programmes • Training for school sencos • Training for teacher assistants A connected and collaborative approach towards the extra (external) support between teachers (gps) and specialists in this area Compulsory quality pre and in service courses in the area of learning differences As a nation of incredible people, parents, teachers and school leaders it is time for us to be (more) receptive to the fact that our beliefs, perspectives and knowledge around Dyslexia must be expanded. Our literacy, social justice and mental health rates rely on this. During my time as a classroom teacher, advisor, school leader and now a consultant in the area of learning differences I have long held the belief that we are one (very important and influential) link of many in a students education chain. It is up to us to ensure our link is strong but not rigid, upright but not arrogant, standing at the ready to connect with not only the easiest to reach or expected link but those which may take the student on a turn or link for the best. Their world depends on our ability as educators to be vulnerable, to learn and to realise we may have got it wrong in the past. Now is the time because learning differences exist. Always have, always will. Carla McNeil, Founder, Learning Matters Ltd #becauselearningdifferencesexist More Education = More Opportunity Enrol now for Term 2, 2019. Spaces may be limited. Please pre-register by email. Term 2 begins on 29th April. Jazz Unlimited Dance Studio: Email: jazzunlimited@xtra.co.nz Phone: 838 0096. The timetable is on www.jazzunlimited.co.nz. We are at 188 Kent Street, Frankton (Norton Road end). Visitors are welcome. Planet Dance: Ballroom, Latin, Salsa, Argentine Tango, Modern Jive. 12 years to adult. We are also wedding dance specialists. Email: planetdance@xtra.co.nz Phone: 838-0096. BOOK YOUR SPOT IN OUR MAY ISSUE For more information contact the team today at info@wbn.co.nz or 07 838 1333
Page 1 and 2: APRIL/MAY VOLUME 27: ISSUE 4 2019 W
Page 3 and 4: WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 201
Page 9 and 10: Experience care as it should be, ex
Page 13 and 14: Winning team: From left, Raewyn McP
Page 17 and 18: CAMBRIDGE WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS Apr
Page 21 and 22: The earth conscious hotel opening d
Page 25 and 26: Small business owner gets a lucky b
Page 29 and 30: BLACK & ORANGE - PARKHAVEN WAIKATO
Page 31 and 32: BLACK & ORANGE - PARKHAVEN WAIKATO
Page 35 and 36: HANSA CHIPPERS WAIKATO BUSINESS NEW
Page 37 and 38: HANSA CHIPPERS WAIKATO BUSINESS NEW
Page 39 and 40: KINGSBEER CONSTRUCTION - BURNSCO WA
Page 41 and 42: Rodney Stirling Rodney Stirling KIN
Page 43 and 44: very tough economic conditions for
Page 45 and 46: FROM THE GROUND UP WAIKATO BUSINESS
Page 47 and 48: Did you hear the one about… Humou
Page 51: Relocating companies find solution

Waikato Business News April/May 2019

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?