Introducing the new St John of God Hauora Trust Chair

Peter’s appointment comes after he joined the Board as one of six members early in 2018.

Peter says his interest in the organisation stemmed from his knowledge of the work done at St John of God Halswell primarily, having spent his high school years riding past the facility each day on his way to school.

“I have always been interested in the community, having previously spent five years on the board of Odyssey House, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre, which opened my eyes to the role non-government organisations play in society and what a difficult place it would be without the contribution they make” he said.

“The attraction to this role was to be able to work in an organisation that really makes a meaningful difference to people.”

Although Peter’s transition from board member to Chair was not a fait accompli, his appointment provides a degree of continuity for the organisation.

“The continuity factor is really important as it will help us bed in the gains we have made, have a really solid financial year and implement the new strategic plan we have recently completed,” he said.

“The challenge for us is to be able to continue to grow our service offerings given the limitations of our current funding model. The focus on growth is vital because we have more to offer our community.”

While Peter acknowledged the challenges ahead, he said the organisation’s strong executive leadership and direction means it well placed to continue to support the community.

“Recently I had the opportunity to hear from some young people who had accessed our services at Waipuna, where they spoke really passionately about the difference our care had made in their lives. This really brought home to me the positive impact we can have,” he said.

“Hearing them speak about the support we provided for them individually and how that help benefitted their community was inspiring.”