Woodley faces challenge to top job
Bowls Manawatu president Tony Woodley is facing a coup d’etat this weekend.
Woodley has served three terms as president, but at the centre’s annual meeting on Sunday he will face two challengers for the presidency and it will be put to a vote.
Palmerston North’s Vern Sixtus, who is the centre manager, is standing for president, as is Lyn Elphick from Northern, who is already on the centre executive.
Sixtus was president of the men’s centre for two terms from 1990 to 1992, then became secretary, and retired in 2004, before coming back in the secretary-manager’s role in 2010.
In Woodley’s time he has tried to clean up the image of the centre and been strict with behaviour, and he hasn’t been afraid to change competition formats.
There is also expected to be a couple of changes to the rest of the executive. Eric Cairncross (Palmerston North) and Graham Black (Northern) are standing down.
Brian Bismark from Himatangi Beach, formerly of Foxton and Beach, is standing.
The rest of the centre executive is vice-president Carolyn Puett (Kimbolton and District), Flora Hirst (Bulls), Norah Bacon (Hokowhitu) and Ailsa Lindsay (Terrace End).
The centre is also expected to make a profit this season after their $8623 deficit last year.
The increase in finances was mainly through the work of Helen King, who Woodley employed to help find the centre sponsorship and grants. She came to the party with about $15,500 for the centre.
There aren’t expected to be any other major items of business at the meeting.