OUR TEAM

Born and bred in Fairlie, Greg is married to Sandy with three adult children Lee, Tom and Abby, and three grandchildren Maie, Floss and Mabel. Greg has 35 years of farming experience in the South Canterbury region. He has just recently sold their 1300 ha sheep and beef farming operation and purchased a smaller 25 ha property. This downsizing came about as Greg and Sandy wanted a change in direction in life to spend more time with family and pursue their interests outside of farming. This has also allowed Greg to be more involved in community work, which is one of the reasons he has become involved in the Aoraki Foundation.

Greg has been involved in many community organisations over the years including being the South Canterbury Federated Farmers Provincial President, past Chairman of Farming Beyond 2000, the Founding Trustee of the Mackenzie Vehicle Trust, President of the Mackenzie Collie Club, former Beef and Lamb Monitor Farmer and Master of the Mackenzie Masonic Lodge.

Greg enjoys his sports and is a Life Member of the Mackenzie Rugby Club, the Assistant Club Captain of the Fairlie Golf Club and a member of the Mackenzie Curling Club. He also served six years on the Mackenzie College Board of Trustees, three of which were as Chairperson.
Greg is passionate about the South Canterbury region, and this mainly stems from the opportunities it has given him and of course the great people that reside here.

Tony is a retired Chartered Accountant. He brings extensive governance experience gained from a career in Management.  He has a long history in voluntary community involvement assisting many individuals by way of Business Mentoring, and numerous community groups to achieve their good work in the wider North Otago and South Canterbury communities.

He is married, with two adult children, and currently has a lifestyle property in Waimate. He was closely involved in the formation of the Foundation many years ago, and acknowledges the foresight of the proponents, and the good work of past Trustees in building the Foundation to where it is today.

In accepting the opportunity to join the Board, such decision was made on the basis that South Canterbury has, and will continue to have, many organisations who do extremely good work, to which the Aoraki Foundation can be the community conduit to assist them.

Jenny is a Partner at Timpany Walton Lawyers specialising in Subdivisions, Trust, Property and Commercial Law.  Originally from Te Awamutu, Jenny married a South Cantabrian in 2003 and after time spent living in various locations around New Zealand and overseas she and her husband chose to move permanently to Timaru to raise their family. 

She has previously held a number of community governance roles as a Trustee of the Wanakafest Trust, Deputy Chair of the Timaru Parents Centre, Chair of the Craighead Kindergarten Board of Governors and trustee on the Pleasant Point Primary School Board of Trustees. Presently Jenny is on the Board of Trustees for Mountainview High School, a member of the Board for the South Canterbury Hospice and on the Advisory Committee for the Aoraki Women’s Fund, alongside her role as a Trustee for the Aoraki Foundation.

Jenny admires and supports the Foundation’s “smart giving” endowment fund model as she believes it provides donors with a simple way of ensuring that their donation, no matter how big or small, will have a long term impact in helping charitable causes in the Aoraki region.

I am looking forward to working with the Aoraki Foundation. I have long been a supporter of Community Foundations and have for many years served the South Canterbury community. I am married to Mark and we have three adult daughters. My early work life was as a registered nurse with 20 years in hospital and general practice settings. This was followed by a community-based role in crime prevention and community strengthening.

In 2005 I was elected to Parliament as the first Aoraki MP, then with boundary changes Rangitata MP. I became a Minister in the Key government in 2011, a role I held until the end of 2016. I left Parliament at the 2017 election to pursue further roles in my community.

Since leaving Parliament I have held a number of governance roles, which include Presbyterian Support South Canterbury Deputy Chair (2017-current), Hospice South Canterbury (2017-current), South Canterbury DHB (2020-current), Alzheimers South Canterbury (2021-current) and Retirement Villages Association Executive Committee (Jan 2022-current).

I am currently an independent contractor doing business development and support of the rural sector through the Rural Support Trust, and spent 2 ½ years working with farmers caught up in the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. I am also an independent marriage and civil union celebrant and in addition, officiate at funerals.

A long-time South Canterbury dairy farmer and community leader, Tom brings extensive governance experience to the Aoraki Foundation.

He served as National President of Federated Farmers, Vice-President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, and held leadership roles with Opuha Water Ltd and Environment Canterbury.

A Lincoln University graduate and former Chancellor, he remains active as Patron of its Alumni Association.

Recognised for his contributions to agriculture and community, Tom was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2014 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2018.

Now semi-retired, he continues to serve the region he’s called home since 1972. Tom is looking forward to helping the Aoraki Foundation further achieve its vision, mission and goals in leaving a legacy for South Canterbury.

John is still married to his first wife Cara and has three grown up children. He dairy farms at the base of the Hunter Hills and has been involved in Federated Farmers and Fonterra in various governance roles and completed the Fonterra governance program.

John has coached school girls rugby for a number of years and is a keen open water swimmer.