The Sun
Wednesday March 25, 2015
Besley to step down By Jacob Page The Marlborough District Council will have a new chief executive for the first time in 15 years when Andrew Besley steps down in December. Mr Besley says he made his intentions clear when his contract was renewed for a further three years in 2012. “I had always intended to stand down at the end of this three year term and pursue other things.” Mr Besley said working with the staff at the MDC had been a highlight of the job over a long period of time. He says he will stay in Marlborough. “Marlborough is my home and I have a few interests here.” Mayor Alistair Sowman says Mr Besley had left the MDC in excellent shape. “He has been a very savvy CEO and very prudent with the finances,” Mr Sowman says. “This is a low debt council.” “He’s had a major impact on the Council
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The Sun
and it is disappointing to see him go.” Mr Sowman says a human resources company should be appointed to oversee the job advertisement. He said he would raise the matter at the next council meeting on April 2. “It is a key appointment that councillors must decide upon so I’m sure there will be plenty of discussion.” He says the chief executive’s impact on future councils is unknown but he was confident of finding a strong choice to suit the province. Sowman says there will be interest internally for the role but he wanted to cast an open net to find the right applicant. “I’m always open to promoting from within but with this role being an important one, I want to take it to the market. Assets and Services manager Mark Wheeler stepped in for Mr Besley while he was recovering from surgery in late STEPPING DOWN: Marlborough District Council 2013. CEO Andrew Besley will leave in December 2015.
and nowhere to board in town,” he says. After several years working in a shearing shed he began his driving career at Broadbridge Transport, before a sizable stint with Transport Nelson. There, he says he remembers his favourite truck, the Leyland Octopus. “The old Hippo (Leyland Hippo) was 150 horsepower, and when I got the Octopus she was around 200. I thought ‘by crikey, there won’t be many catching me!’ “I used to say I didn’t have the fastest truck on the road, but I thought I’d make it bloody interesting for those who thought they had!”
In 1987 he and wife Zeta moved to Sydney, where he chauffeured for Lady Fairfax, but he returned due to homesickness. On how he had continued to work for 70 years, he says the social part of the job kept him going back. “I got quite a bit of business for Up Marketing. Talking, joking and being a bloody fool. “And you’ve got to give good service.” He says although he was still able-bodied, it was time to take a reduced role. “It’s a good way to end my working career. Seventy years working.”
HAGER TO BOOK FESTIVAL Investigative journalist, Nicky Hager is one of 10 guest speakers at this year’s Marlborough Book Festival, from July 24-26. Hager, whose book Dirty Politics caused a scandal ahead of last year’s general election, will be speaking at Spy Valley winery’s cellar door, in the Waihopai Valley.
ROAD SAFETY COURSE A free road safety course for people 65 years and over is being held by the Marlborough Road Safety Council tomorrow. The event is being held at the Wesley Centre from 1:30-4:30pm. To register your interest, contact Nigel on 5785256.
GALA
Seventy years working By Adam Poulopoulos After 70 years in the workforce, Bryan Maxted is finally taking a back seat. The 84-year-old has started on an on-call basis for Up Marketing & Sales, the company where he has worked for just over a decade. The change marked nearly seven decades where he has driven cars and trucks on-and-off. Born in Marlborough, Bryan says his dad taught him to drive when he was 13. His progress into the workforce was accelerated by the family’s living situation. “We lived in the Wairau Valley and there was no way to get to school in Blenheim,
The Riverlands School Easter Gala is being held on Saturday, with proceeds going back to the school. The event begins at 10am and ends at 2pm at the school.
COINS IN CIRCULATION One million coins commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the Anzac landings were available as legal tender from Monday. The 50 cent coins will circulate with existing currency. The coins feature New Zealand and Australian soldiers standing back-to-back, with hammerhead shark and silver fern patterns also included. Bryan Maxted with photos of the Leyland Octopus.
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