Upper Hutt Business & Professional Women February 2015
Advancing the interests of working women
Another year has commenced, another summer full of fabulous
sunshine, another opportunity to put our lives and dreams into
fulloperation. And another chance to put our club on the map; and make plans and goals for members and to have our club
recognised on national and international levels.
What personal goals have you made for 2015?
I have enrolled in a full-time course at Whitireia Polytechnic to
Study Te Reo Maori. My goal is to at least obtain a Level 4
Certification. I know it will be a challenge. We all need a
challenge at some level, to grow and learn which will keep us
healthy in mind, body and soul.
I can now say I had a traumatic year last year especially when I was called over to the UK to assist in the rehabilitation of my son who had a very serious accident. After 6 months off work he is now back at work, albeit only part time at this stage. A relief to say the least and can only reflect on the saying ‘for the Grace of God go I.’
To round off the year, though, and to put a positive spin on it, my daughter produced my first grandchild.
We’ll all put our heads together, work together to make sure we support each other in whatever the circumstances appear from around that ‘unknown corner’.
Have a good read everyone there is lots of
good, researched reading to be enjoyed.
Trish
President’s Message
Firstly I would like to thank Christine Edney for the fantastic job she has done as President of our Club for the past two years, especially for the extra responsibility she took on in organising the 2014 Annual Conference held at the James Cook Hotel in Wellington. I would also like to thank Trish Gray, Hellen Swales and Kim Black for the work they put into the Committee and the smooth running of the Club with their behind-the-scenes work. Trish has been on the Committee for many years (as well as her time as President) and her contribution has been huge. I am very grateful she has volunteered to continue to write our Club Newsletter and would ask that Club Members support her with articles on your work or life or send her PR articles which may be of interest to the Club Members for inclusion in the newsletters. Thanks to Hellen for organising the fashion parade and thanks to Kim for organising Red Bag Day.
We are halfway through summer and a very dry summer it is turning out to be.For those of you who can simply turn on a tap and water appears,spare a thought for those of us who rely on tank water. So far we have not had to purchase water.If you see two women in Mangaroa doing a rain dance, it will be Angela and myself!I have spent hours in the garden trying to get it all under control during the school holidays and can see the end in sight although a few more plants will need to be replaced due to the drought conditions.
Neville and I spent two weeks in Hawaii on Big Island, Maui and Oahu, departing Wellington on 27 December. Neither of us had been there before and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning so much about these Islands which are so volcanic in nature – in parts just kilometre after kilometre of lava, no plants, nothing. We got to see Kilauea’s crater but not the lava flow which is considered too dangerous to go near (and a $5,000 fine if caught). For me one of the highlights of the trip was the sight of two humpback whales cavorting in the sea so close to land. Of course, every bookshop I came across was a must-see and I have to report that I think our bookshops here are better than what I saw there; ours seem a lot brighter as most of our covers are different to the American editions of books. Although it was winter in Hawaii the temperatures were in the mid 20s which made it very pleasant. Another highlight was meeting and talking to Senator Bill Nelson and his wife at Kona Airport on Big Island; we had no idea who he was until I asked what he did as he was wearing this little American flag badge; we really need a BPW lapel badge to wear!
Thank you to the ten ladies who were able to attend the Planning Meeting on 20 January – it was wonderful to have such a large number of you air your thoughts and ideas. Our Committee this year consists of only five members so please if you are asked to assist at any time during the year your help will be very much appreciated. We have some great speakers in the pipeline and our Resolution for Conference on funding for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren will be amazing if it is successfully passed at Conference. Read the article on the Planning Meeting for further information on what is planned for 2015.
Sally Kean
President
Kilauea Volcano
Planning Report
All the good ideas and plans the club members have discussed
Ten members of the Club met at Sally’s home on 20 January 2015 to discuss the Club’s activities for the forthcoming year.
One of the most important issues we face is to increase our membership. With that in mind, I each Club member is asked to look around them to see if they can identify someone who would enjoy being a BPW member. That is a challenge for us all.
Forthcoming projects for the yearwere discussed along with fundraising ideas. Our most important project will be the follow-up from our Conference Resolution of funding for those grandparents raising their grandchildren who do not go through the CYFS system and are therefore not eligible for funding that those who do, can access.
Following on from this is to continue raising funds for our Second Chance Scholarship; adding to the proceeds from last year’s fashion parade. We envisage giving a scholarship of around $2,000 because anything less is almost pointless in today’s economy. Expressions will also sell tickets for us which hopefully will increase patronage.
This year’s fashion parade is already booked at Expressions for 19 September. Please mark this in your diaries now.
The sponsorship for Upper Hutt families for school stationery and activity fees was discussed. We are too late for this year and Sally is going to do some investigatory work with three Upper Hutt school principals on this issue. We could get a lot of PR coverage for this and I believe even $1,000 would go a long way in helping these families.
Other ideas discussed were a career trade fair and the Super City Submission. Fundraising ideas, other than the fashion parade, are quiz nights at an alternative venue this time, wine orders, and auction night and a film evening (the old Miro Street theatre is returning soon).
Speakers for the year were discussed and already we have several really good speakers in the pipeline. Please support our dinner meetings to support the speakers. Bring along a friend even though they may not want to join BPW, one of our speakers may be of interest to them. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Sally Kean
President
Red Bag Day
Have you ringed your calendar?
Have you purchased your ticket?
To
Celebrate Red Bag Day for Pay Equity Breakfast
Guest Speaker:Tracey Martin MP NZFirst
When:19 February 2015
Where:Silverspoon Restaurant
7 Kiln Street
Silverstream
Time:7.00am – 8.15am
Cost:$20 includes breakfast, juice and coffee / tea
Purchase your ticket from Kim by 16 February. They will be available at our dinner meeting on 10 February.
You can phone or text Kim:021 1399018 or email
Can you see the People?
Visit from Anu Viks - BPW Estonia
Anu Viks, the PR person for BPW Estonia visited New Zealand in November 2014 and stayed with Past President Angela McLeod in Upper Hutt. At short notice, Christine Edney and I attended a BBQ which Angela and her husband put on for Anu, her husband and two friends who were travelling through New Zealand for two weeks.
Anu spoke wonderful English (plus three other languages) and the evening proved very educational regarding Estonia’s history, particularly with regard to the murder of her grandparent’s generation by the Russians and the rule of Estonia by Russia until the fall of communism there. It was interesting to hear the way their Parliament is run and what BPW in Estonia do. Anu belongs to a Club with over 90 members in Talinn, the Capital of Estonia. It was a wonderful evening and proved that international BPW connections can be so beneficial and enlightening.
We presented Anu with a pictorial book on New Zealand which we hope will remind her of their trip to our beautiful country.
Sally Kean
President
AnuViks with Angela Mcleod
Penelope Pig
An Update on Amalgamation
OR
Super City
For those of you following the Political scene you will be aware that the Amalgamation or Super - City is on the agenda again.
In 2013/14 we asked the community to say what they wanted. The message came back very loud and clear - Status Quo (It ain't broke so don't mess with it). Out of the 9 Unitary Authorities Upper Hutt citizens where the most vocal both in numbers that attended the public meetings held by the commissioners and by our written submissions.
Well, we need to ask you all again for your input. A Draft Proposal for the Reorganisation of Local Government in Wellington was released in December 2014 asking the public to read the document and make submissions by Monday the 2nd March 5.00pm.
The two options are:
- to support the draft proposal or
- to stay with the status quo.
There is nothing else on the table. We need as many individual submissions as possible in order to force the commission into hearing these and hopefully generate the need for a referendum.
Send submission to. Local Government Commission PO Box 5362 WELLINGTON 6145 OR
Email: . nz
There is a submission form at the back of this newsletter.
There will be Public Hearings for submitters to speak to their submission and to hear Commission's final Proposal.
We need to achieve 10% of voters of one affected to force a referendum.
Things to consider: - What amalgamation will mean for Upper Hutt:
- Loss of Local government
- Loss of participatory democracy
- Loss of Assets
- Loss of local planning
- Loss of Representation
- Loss of Autonomy Increased expenditure
- lncreased rates Increased debt
Hellen Swales
Multi-tasking more damaging than smoking dope
Opinion of Robyn Pearce –
As reported in NZ Herald
There's a common belief that women are better at multi-tasking than guys. It's only partly true. In reality, if we try to do more than one thing at a time neither gender is effective at reasonably complex tasks that require concentrated brain power.
Here's an example of effective multi-tasking:
I went for a run this morning - one of my preferred methods of keeping reasonably fit. It was a clear-sky warm spring morning. The country air was fresh and wholesome, the birds were chirping, a couple of dogs barked and a few early workers zipped by in their cars with neighbourly waves.
At the point of turn-around I spotted a pretty patch of wild flowers so stopped to pick a small bunch. Holding the flowers downwards to minimise bumping, I got back into my (slow) running stride. About 200 metres further my eye landed on an empty beer can and discarded pizza box. Picking up litter when I can is one of my community values so, knowing there was an appropriate drop off place 50 metres along the road, I did the right thing.
So, in one 40 minute time-slot there was exercise, appreciation of the joys of spring, neighbourly contact, French homework, a simple and informal addition to the beauty of my home and a contribution to the community environment.
I was multi-tasking but the only real brain power used was in rehearsing the French verbs. The whole episode felt both effective and rewarding.
Now here's an example of ineffective multi-tasking:
Bill was at his desk in his open plan office. He was part-way through a report for the boss when one of his colleagues came up. 'My computer's having a bad hair day. You're good at this stuff. Can I borrow you for a couple of minutes?'
Sighing, Bill got up and went to help. 5 minutes later, as he sat back down at his desk, an email notifier flashed across his screen. He took a quick look - Marketing wanted some figures for an urgent press release. So he attended to that.
Forty-five minutes later he finally got back to his report but he'd lost the flow: it took him ages to get back into action.
That pattern is experienced by many people every day, all day long. Do we wonder why so many people go home frustrated with the volume of activity they've achieved?
Many of the tasks modern office workers do are attempted from a multi-tasking perspective - and it's NOT efficient.
As we dodge from task to task we're engaging in a process called "contact switching." The outcome of this is that it's harder to stay focused and harder to think deeply. We skip across the surface of many different pieces of information and many different tasks but achieve no great depth in any one.
If we're desperately trying to deal with more input than we can comfortably handle, the brain and body get locked into a circle where the brain's frontal lobes lose their sophistication. We get black and white thinking and start to lose perspective and the ability to see possible nuances and variations. We struggle to stay organised, to set priorities and to manage our time. We have a constant low level feeling of panic and guilt.
David Meyer, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, a leading expert on how we focus, is convinced that chronic long-term distraction is as dangerous as cigarette smoking to our health.
Solution - not to take up smoking dope! Rather, be very vigilant on reducing interruptions and distractions, often masquerading as multi-tasking.
A Woman of Influence
Article written by Suzanne Winterflood
From Westpac website
Lesley Elliott, named the Supreme Winner at the recent Women of Influence Awards, has much in common with the other finalists. They are all determined, indefatigable and visionary, and are affecting the lives of New Zealanders in very important ways.
The crucial difference is that, unlike the others, Lesley didn’t choose her path. It was thrust upon her when her 22-year-old daughter, Sophie, was attacked and killed by an ex-boyfriend in January 2008.
“A while after Sophie died, police told me another woman had come forward with a tale of abuse by the same man,” Lesley says now. “For some obscure reason I went on to the Women’s Refuge website and found their definitions of abuse. I could hardly believe what I was reading. I had a massive meltdown – if only I’d recognised the signs.”
Her immediate thought was to visit Sophie’s high school and tell students about Sophie’s relationship, and how to avoid getting into a similarly destructive situation. Instinctively, she’d taken her first step towards becoming New Zealand’s most passionately effective anti-violence campaigner.
“I approached other high schools in the area and it spread by word of mouth. I’ve presented Sophie’s story more than 200 times. Girls come up and tell me about what’s happened to them or a friend. A lot just want to give me a hug and have a cry.”
From the early days of the murder trial, journalists inquired about Lesley’s legacy for her daughter. “After it was over, the court case and sentencing and appeal, our family was exhausted. I could have gone home, shut the door and never come out again. But I told myself, ‘I’ve got to do this for Sophie.’”
So, in October 2010, the Sophie Elliott Foundation was launched. The aim: to prevent violence against young women through education and empowerment.
The statistics quoted on the website are devastating. On average, a woman in New Zealand dies every 26 days at the hands of her current or former partner.48% of couples at age 21 have reported being physically abused by their other half.
Lesley is still amazed by the support she’s received. “Before the sentencing, I was contacted by two women who identified strongly with Sophie’s experience. One provided seed money for the Foundation, and they introduced me to people who could help. The police and the Ministry of Social Development’s It’s Not OK campaign came on board. It all fell into place and has grown from there.”
A key focus of the Foundation is the police-run Loves-Me-Not programme, which teaches Year 12 students about healthy, equal relationships.
“We want kids to think, and talk to someone they trust,” she explains. “We’re also encouraging them not to be a bystander. If you feel there’s something going on with a couple you know, tell someone. It’s better to be wrong than be in the position I’m in.”