THIS EDITION’S UPDATE FROM MASTER PLUMBERS INCLUDES A PROFILE OF MASTER PLUMBERS BOARD MEMBER SAM TYSON AND A CALL FOR MORE MEMBERS TO CONSIDER GETTING INVOLVED IN GOVERNANCE ROLES.
Considered a role on the Board? John DeBernardo discusses the need to build skills and diversity on the Master Plumbers Board.
Having recently retired after 10 years’ service as an Elected Director of Master Plumbers, I was honoured that the Board firstly presented me with a contribution award, and secondly have co-opted me back onto the Board as a director for a further one-year term. After chairing the Board’s Audit & Compliance and Remuneration Committees for a number of years, my key roles now are to help facilitate a smooth transition for the new committee chairs, and to assist with continued governance development for Master Plumbers. Following that latter point, I was delighted to hear that Sam Tyson was elected as a Master Plumbers Elected Director at this year’s AGM, and it’s a pleasure to see someone like Sam at our Board table. Not only does she have a strong governance skillset and focus, but she also brings sorely needed diversity to our Board at a time when we really need to be looking beyond our traditional models and thinking. Considering the growing number of female business owners, co-owners and leaders in the plumbing sector, and the role that Master Plumbers plays in their daily lives, it amazes me that we haven’t achieved greater gender equality on our Board by 2021. Possibly this might be due to more ‘recognised’ (read male) candidates often having been nominated for election in the past. However, our female members form a crucial part of our industry, and we need to see their leadership at a governance level for Master Plumbers to continue to flourish as a premium membership organisation.
BEST IN BRAND PRIZE “We think our vans look awesome with the blue Master Plumbers logo,” said Jade Corry in her entry for our Best in Brand competition. And we agree! A $200 Prezzy Card prize voucher is on its way to Van Dam Plumbing 2020 Ltd in Putaruru. Congratulations to the team.
Get your entries in! Have some great looking Master Plumbers branding in your business? Send us a photo or two for a chance to win the next $200 Prezzy Card prize. Email Luke Pirie by 9 July: lpirie@masterplumbers.org.nz
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Equally, as regulatory, environmental and social issues becoming a greater part of our director roles, together with the ongoing growth of our Masterlink business, our Board must continue to develop its overall governance competence and skills, so I’m sure there will be continued impetus for professional development of our directors over the forthcoming year. That continued professional development is important not only for Master Plumbers, but for the future of our industry as a whole, as our current and emerging directors will, over time, gravitate into further leadership and governance roles in the plumbing sector. Master Plumbers has been a fantastic advocate for the plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying industry for many years now, and it’s a great example of how an industry representation body should operate. To ensure we maintain that status, we need to see more of our future leaders—both the Jacks and the Jills—putting their names forward to contribute to the governance of our organisation.
John DeBernardo has been co-opted back onto the Master Plumbers Board for a one-year term having recently retired as an Elected Director.
