WAIKATO: About 30 people turned out Thursday night to vote on four hotly contested Waikato Chamber of Commerce board seats.
Thanks to vice chairman Rachael Dean stepping down, and three other board seats being up for renewal, candidates had four spots on the currently eight-person board to compete for.
Chairman Grant Robson said the eight candidates who put their hands up for election, which included five newbies as well as the three members up for renewal, was one of the largest candidate pools in recent times – a good sign for the Chamber.
The vote saw general manager of the Novotel and Ibis hotels, Dick Breukink, added to the board, and the re-election of Tony O’Brien, Jason Trower and Terry Wilson.
Grant Robson retains his place as chairman of the board, while Andrew Buchanan-Smart, Daniel Shore and Tracey Clark move into the second half of their two year terms.
The 109th Annual General Meeting also saw the board report a net deficit of just over $14,000 – about half that reported in 2014. Robson said the “financial performance is still not where we want it to be” but credited new chief executive William Durning with a “significant second half turnaround” that minimised the loss for the year.
