Rescue chopper gets new trustee
Dennis Christian is the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter Trust’s newest recruit.
The former Nelson College Board of Trustees chair said leaving that role had freed up a ‘‘reasonable amount of time’’ and he wanted to continue to give back to the community.
‘‘It’s great to be involved with something that means so much to people.’’
Rescue helicopter trust general manager Paula Muddle said it was down to three trustees after winemaker Johnson Scutt moved to Mendoza, Argentina before the Covid-19 lockdown. He had stood down from the role, and planned to rejoin the board when he returned.
She said she came to know Christian as one of the other parents that showed up to every school camp. ‘‘It’s that dedication and time that you put in and you can’t get back, but it is so valuable, and you never, ever regret it.’’
Christian served on the board of Hampden Street School, then followed his children on to Nelson College, where he was board chair for more than seven years.
He and his wife own tourism business Flying Kiwi Adventures, which is based in Nelson and operates tours around the country.
‘‘It’s nice to have another person on the board with experience in the domestic tourism market,’’ Muddle said.
Christian said the trust role would be different, as his other director roles had been commercially and financially focused.
He was looking forward to working alongside Rob Williams, who had been chairman of the trust for several decades, as well as fellow trustees, lawyer Victoria Hall and Devine Fitness Equipment owner
Geoff Devine. They were a ‘‘great bunch to be working with’’.
The trustees are responsible for setting policies and procedures to monitor the trust’s operational and financial performance and its obligations and agreements with sponsors.
‘‘This role will be quite interesting, as it is a different dynamic and the fundraising component is quite new to me, so I am looking forward to gaining an understanding of that side of governance,’’ Christian said.
‘‘It is just such a worthy cause – that is the thing that really excites me.’’