President: Mike Small

Mike and his wife Mary have operated the Lorenzo Motor Lodge in Christchurch since March 2004 with this being their first motel experience.

Prior to that, Mike was a Business Relationship Manager with New Zealand Post and was directly involved with the introduction of Kiwibank into the Franchise network for the top half of the South Island.

Mary & Mike have three adult children (two daughters married in Christchurch with five grand children between them) and a son teaching in Taiwan.

Mike has played representative golf and outdoor bowls for Canterbury with a highlight being winning the New Zealand Pairs at the National Bowls event in 2004.

Mike is a current member of the Christchurch Motel Association which has a strong and active membership. He enjoys being part of that team and especially as a MANZ Board member.

Mary and Mike look forward to a rewarding few years being of service to their guests and treating them as they would expect to be treated.

Vice President: Peter Nash

Peter has operated the Vista Motor Lodge and Restaurant in Wairoa for the last four and a half years. He is currently a Board member of Golf Hawke's Bay and has been Chairperson of a number of School Boards of Trustees in the Wairoa area.

He comes from a farming background, and was a shearing contractor for a number of years before moving into Wairoa in 1990, where he built and operated a Garden Centre for 13 years before taking on the lease of The Vista. The motel has 27 units and a 60 seat restaurant.

Vice President: Neville Butcher

Neville started his career in the Electrical industry as an Electrician and worked his way up to a Registered Engineering Associate (REA). He specialised mainly in Industrial Control and Instrumentation systems with the final period of 3 years being Electrical Supervisor of a new Medium Density Fibre Board Plant built in Southland.

Neville and his wife Sandras career in the Motel Industry started in 1993. It was broken for a period while looking for their second Lease, but is their future career path now. They have owned two leases both in Queenstown and Dunedin and 18 months ago built their own freehold property in Dunedin called Bluestone On George.

Neville is married with 2 early teen children and any spare time he has is spent supporting their interests at this time.

Neville has been a member of the local Motel Association Executive for the past 7 years and currently holds the position of President. He is very passionate about the Motel industry and the issues he sees facing the sector ranging from Government initiatives, local body bylaws, Quality systems and Motel Lease arrangements that impact on many moteliers.

Board Member: Peter Macdonald

Peter and his wife Karen have been Motelliers in Marlborough since 1998 and still enjoy the challenges of a rapidly changing industry.

Pete brings a background in Customer and Administrative services to any activity he undertakes, along with experience in retail and construction environments.

Since purchasing the AAA Marlin Motel Pete has continued to be involved in his community through a range of organizations, including a commitment spanning more than 20 years to the New Zealand Red Cross Emergency Response Units and Search and Rescue. He has served numerous terms on the Board of the Marlborough branch, including 3 as President as well as 6 years on the board of the marketing Group AA Host/Host Accommodation including the turbulent years as the group transformed itself.

Board Member: Deborah Tawa

Deborah has been directly involved in the Motel industry for the last eight years and involved through her parents for the 5 years prior to that.

She is married to Mo and they took over as Managers at Brougham Heights Motel in New Plymouth in January 2001. In April 2003 they purchased a half share of the lease from Beryl and Colin and have completed that purchase in April 2009 now owning the lease of Brougham Heights Motel. This is a large property of 34 units and a conference centre.

In March 2005, as a partnership with Beryl and Colin, they purchased the lease for Amber Court Motel also in New Plymouth. This is another large property of 35 units which is currently managed.

In March this year, also in a family partnership, they purchased the Espresso Garden Cafe at Mitre 10. Deborah is responsible for the administration of all three businesses along with completing a couple of accounting papers over the last year.

Deb and Mo have two children Kyla and Dayna, both girls heavily involved in sports and school activities.

She is currently the President of the local Manz branch and has held the role of Treasurer/Secretary prior to that. She has been involved in the Association from the time of entering the industry. Deborah firmly believes that you need to be involved to really understand how things work.

Board Member: Julie Wakefield

Julie has been a Hastings resident for 28 years she has a strong employment history in sales and marketing as well as upper level management. She has also been involved in various committees including Kindergarten Secretary and Board of Trustees Secretary.

Julie and Maurice her soul mate of 9 years purchased the 806 Motor Lodge lease in February 2007 obtaining the freehold November 2007. They thoroughly enjoy moteling and are firm believers in excellent customer service and the promotion of local tourism.

She was elected Branch Secretary of the Hastings branch of MANZ within 3 months giving her the opportunity to work very closely with members keeping the lines of communication wide open. In May 2008 she was elected President and her aim is to continue being a communicative leader.

Maurice and Julie attended the MANZ Conference in Invercargill in 2007 and were introduced to a wonderful wider community who are also passionate about what they do. The 2008 conference was on her doorstep and she was thrilled to be a part of the organising committee marketing the conference from a local level.

Passion, ability, determination with 100% support from her partner and family ensures the success of all of our life choices.

Chief Executive: Michael Baines

Michael comes from a background of trade associations, economic development and commerce. He spent 9 years with the Retail and Wholesale Merchants Association, 6 years as Chief Executive of the Upper Hutt Economic Development Agency, 2.5 years with Whitcoulls and 3 years as Business Manager at the New Zealand International Campus in Heretaunga.

Michael has had broad experience across a whole range of sectors, business types and disciplines and is in a position to work with the industry on the issues it faces from both an operational and policy perspective.

In his own time Michael is a keen sportsman with an emphasis on golf, is a keen musician, home handy man, and serves on a number of Boards for commercial & not-for-profit organisations.

Michael Baines vCard

Executive Assistant: Lynn Braddock

Lynn Braddock started with MANZ in March 2000, having considerable experience in a variety of corporate and not-for profit membership organisations.

Her most recent experience was at the Ecologic Foundation, Nelson, where she was office manager for over three years. Before that she had 16 years' experience in human resources, property and office management with the NZ Wool Board.

Lynn Braddock's vCard

Membership/Marketing: Louise Fowler

Louise has traveled extensively and has a solid background in the tourism and hospitality sector both in New Zealand and the USA and UK.

She has worked for Ruapehu Alpine Lifts in NZ, IPC Media in London and Snowbird Ski Resort in the USA.

In her spare time she will often be found on the ski slopes. She enjoys playing Netball and travelling on holiday around New Zealand.

Louise Fowler's vCard

Accounts: Sonja Schmidt

Sonja is our part-time Accounts Assistant with a background in banking. She is married with an energetic 13 year old girl.

In her spare time she likes to sail and swim with her family.

Sonja Schmidt's vCard

Personal Assistant: Moira Thorn

Moira assists the CEO, Michael Baines. She is married with two adult daughters. In her spare time she like to play croquet and watch tennis.

Email: moira@manz.co.nz