July Newsletter

Hi members and friends of Achilles NZ,

It is hard to believe that three months has already passed and it has been busy I know for all members, partners and sponsors of Achilles NZ this past month.
I have finally been able to meet all our Chapter leads by my visiting Christchurch and Hawkes Bay and hear about all the great work being done in these two regions. Unfortunately, Mark who was leading our Chapter in Napier can no longer lead so our thanks go out to him for the work he has done in establishing a presence in the Hawkes Bay for Achilles.
 I also had the honour of meeting some of the members, guides and coaches of our Hamilton chapter training on a cold winters night in Hamilton recently-they all were working hard in preparation for events coming up especially the Hamilton Half Marathon in October. I am also looking forward to seeing a few of our members and guides competing in Taupo next month over the 10km or half marathon some as far away as Dunedin are attending. Our thanks as always go out to our coaches and guides who do such great work in preparing our members to compete and achieve their goals.
The Board has been very busy in establishing a strong and sustainable base for Achilles NZ so we continue to strengthen and grow. They are looking forward to sharing the strategic plan with you all and it will explain to all our members, partners, friends and sponsors where we will be heading for the next three years and what we wish all of us to accomplish. As volunteers, the members of the Achilles Board they put in many hours of valuable work so my and your thanks to them for their fantastic contributions to Achilles.
As always, I attended many meetings during the month of July and especially enjoyed meeting up with Parafed BOP and the Mount Maunganui Joggers in beginning talks of setting up a chapter in Tauranga-exciting times ahead for this region. It was also a privilege in meeting up with Hadleigh from Parafed Canterbury in Christchurch. I used to work with Hadleigh when we both were employed for Paralympics NZ so it will great to work alongside Hadleigh and Parafed Canterbury along with all the other Parafeds throughout NZ in the future.
A warm welcome too to our new members and guides who have joined Achilles NZ this month and I know will contribute to our mission which β€œis to enable people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream athletics, promote personal achievement, and enhance self-esteem and lower barriers.”
Finally, do continue to enjoy training for the events that you all are aiming for from Taupo next month to the Hamilton or Auckland or New York marathons/ half marathons/10km/5km or other events in the coming months. We are indeed thankful for so many event directors who are always happy to help our members attend their events, and likewise to all our sponsors and partners who are helping us to grow as an organisation.

Kind regards,
John Bowden,
National Manager

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