Chair
Yvonne was born in Wellington and trained as a Registered Nurse at Dunedin Hospital. She left in 1968 for her OE and spent 5 years overseas living in England and South Africa. She returned to NZ in 1973 bringing her husband-to-be with her. Her career spanned 53 years, 30 of which were working in healthcare for the elderly, focusing on education and rehabilitation. She was one of the founders of accreditation for healthcare services. She has travelled widely and has two children and 4 grandchildren. Since retiring she has become involved with Community Patrol and been a member of U3A for the past 6 years. She has been recently widowed.
Vice Chair & IT
Roger trained as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in Pathology at Christchurch Hospital. He has worked in Australia and NZ and in both the private and public sectors. In the mid 90’s he changed his focus to IT in Pathology and for 15 years was IT Manager at Medlab South. In semi-retirement he has been a contract IT Manager and an Operations Manager for the CDHB during the Covid-19 pandemic response. In his spare time he is a gardener and golfer, and with grandchildren in Hong Kong and Brisbane he and his wife Sue are supportive grandparents visiting their overseas families whenever possible.
Secretary
Lyn has worked as office manager, administrator and personal assistant, involved in the fields of accountancy, the plastics industry, a start-up airline and the education sector. Born in Wellington, she worked in London for several years, and lives in Christchurch by firm choice because of all the City has to offer. Lyn is a very keen traveller and when at home she loves gardening, walking, attending the theatre, playing mahjong, and reading. She is involved in several of the U3A interest groups.
Communication
Vivienne was born in Invercargill. A former journalist, she moved to Christchurch with her husband and family in 1989 working for the Christchurch City Council until 1993 when she moved into the health sector. After completing an MBA (dist.) she managed communications for several government agencies in New Zealand, the NHS in England and the WHO in Switzerland, returning to Christchurch a few months before the 2010 earthquake. She is the author of several books including ‘Go Home and Cook a Meal’ the biography of Mollie McGrade Clark, ‘The History of the Spinal Unit’ at Burwood Hospital, ‘Creating a Legacy of Social Housing’ the story of Housing New Zealand’s five year repair and rebuild programme following the 2011 earthquakes, the biography ‘Leading Lady: Eve Poole, a Life in the Spotlight’, and has recently completed Volumes 1 & 2 of the history of the Nurse Maude District Nursing Association, a revised edition.
Treasurer
Bev was born in Christchurch, lived in Auckland for 11 years and Hamilton for a year before returning to Christchurch in 1984. She has been married for 54 years and counting to her husband Bruce. Bev spent the majority of her working life in business administration mainly accounting for a small business. She served as treasurer on the Opawa School Board of Trustees, has been an AFS Committee member and is a member of the Rakaia Gorge Society where she has held the position of treasurer. Bev's interests are camping and the outdoors, walking, gardening, current affairs, baking, knitting and she is an avid animal lover.
Membership
Linda worked as an Executive Assistant and was involved in the rebuild of Christchurch after the earthquakes. She also worked as a professional photographer. Linda lived in England for 20 years, but these days enjoys being outdoors around Christchurch, gardening, walking and trying to keep fit, photography, watercolour painting, drawing and reading. She is also actively involved with her young grandchildren.
Interest Groups
Joan is a new U3A member as she has recently stopped working full time after an interesting and varied career. Her last position was managing two services for the National Library of New Zealand. She has also managed libraries for the University of Canterbury and the Christchurch City Libraries network. Prior to this work she taught at the Christchurch Polytechnic for 12 years, three and a half years in an administrative role for TVNZ's Children and Young People's Programme and four years as a secondary school teacher. Joan grew up in Invercargill, however she has called Christchurch home for the past 35 years. She lives with her partner Bob Thayer in Redcliffs. Joan enjoys being out in nature and being informed on local and central issues.
