My Account
A change of name and an expanded executive committee were two special resolutions passed at the One Warkworth Business Association annual meeting on October 21.
The executive committee raised the change of name idea due to concerns that the phrase One Warkworth did not reflect the wider business community focus of the association and might deter associate membership.
Some members had concerns regarding the association’s ability to resource a wider focus, particularly as it had yet to complete a full year as a Business Improvement District (BID).
However, outgoing chair Chris Murphy gave an assurance that the BID district, which provided the bulk of funding for the association, would remain the primary focus. He said a new name would recognise that the association had never been solely Warkworth-focused, as many of the projects it had worked on, such as the Matakana link road, had benefits beyond Warkworth.
Deputy chair Mark Macky, who is likely to be the new chair when the executive holds its first meeting after the annual meeting, said associate membership would be critical for the association going forward.
The resolution was passed, and it was agreed the new name would be the One Mahurangi Business Association.
The special resolution to expand the executive committee from 11 to 15 was passed unanimously.
Chris Murphy was thanked for his four years at the helm.
Mr Macky said Chris’ skills, knowledge and wisdom had been invaluable.
Mr Murphy said he was proud of what had been achieved and the future was “looking good”.
“We went from a voluntary organisation to one that was better funded through sponsorship and greater membership, to a town that is now a BID,” he said.
He added that divisions in the community caused by a previous BID attempt had been mended and he thanked people such as Rachel Callender, Susan Vize, Hugh Harvey and Peter Thompson for making this possible.
