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After 34 years of service, Stanmore Bay Pool and Leisure centre manager Lynda Luiten was farewelled by Auckland Council in a special ceremony – He pounamu māna motuhake, a very special gift.
It was a symbolic gesture with the leisure centre gifting Lynda back to her family, in an acknowledgement of the time Lynda spent away from her family in service of the community.
“People ask me how I stayed here for 34 years but it’s easy, love what you do,” Lynda said.
Having been actively involved since its inception in 1988, Lynda has recently handed over stewardship of the community that she built around the leisure centre. In particular, Lynda’s legacy is the robust recreation programme she built in more than three decades at the centre.
It included programmes such as Sporty Kids, where Lynda involved parents in teaching under-fives how to catch a ball without getting hit in the face, and Rocket Rally which was an evening programme Lynda introduced for working adults when she realised the centre only catered to seniors in the mornings.
Lynda fought to keep prices low so people could visit the centre multiple times a week instead of just once a week. The social fabric of the centre is evident with one of Lynda’s first adult badminton students, now in her mid-nineties, still stopping by the centre to say hi.
“My job was to hit her racket with the shuttle, not for her to hit the shuttle. She had never played sport but wanted to get involved after her husband died. For a lot of people, it’s the only time they get to talk to others. That’s what our centre is about,” Lynda says.
As she hands over to new manager, Rachel Halpin, Lynda says she knows the centre will be in good hands because Rachel shares the same philosophy and heart for the centre.
Rachel started her own journey with the centre as a member in her teens when the centre first opened. In the years since, Rachel has worked in different areas of the centre between stints off for family commitments allowing her to gain a strong customer understanding.
“You are the first person someone sees and you need to make them feel welcome. It can be make or break for somebody new to fitness. My passion is health and wellbeing. I love working with people who are beginning their journey and making them feel comfortable coming here. It doesn’t matter where you start,” Rachel says.
