DICK SMITH
ELECTED 2019

Dick joined our Croquet Club around a decade ago. Being a retired civil engineer from Lismore, New South Wales he brought his considerable skills to bear on the Club’s lawn renovations and drainage works.

Along with his engineering expertise he was very adept at securing funds from a range of funding agencies that largely paid for the extensive construction projects that the Club undertook. He continues to oversee the lawns maintenance and improvement programmes and was responsible for many innovations such as purchasing and operating a roller which has improved the consistency of the lawns no end.

He is a good organiser and communicator which among other things is very necessary for the ongoing liaison with the WCC.

As well as the lawn works, Dick has been President of the Club and remains on the Committee. He was venue manager for the Club when it ran the AC World Championship in 2018 and plays a pivotal role in the overall running of the Club. His various contributions to the Club are too numerous to mention and one often finds him alone on the lawns undertaking a multitude of tasks such as the spraying of weeds or sorting the irrigation system.

Dick is also a keen AC and Golf Croquet player and over the years has had a fair amount of success – both in the Club competitions, interclub and tournaments. Croquet is not his only vocation however with golf, cycling and skiing along with house improvement tasks also featuring prominently. He usually spends some time in Australia especially over the winter months catching up with family and friends and playing golf. Another one of his hobbies is flying and in his earlier years he possessed a private pilot’s licence.

Dick is a very approachable and energetic person and his many contributions to the Club have been immense. Members owe him a big debt of gratitude for what he has achieved over the last 10 years.

SUSAN LEUCHARS
ELECTED 2021

We were lucky when Susan decided to join our Club and give golf croquet a go in 2008. Once here, it didn’t take her long to venture into AC as well. Susan has proved a calm, competitive and winning player in both games over her years at the Club - but of course she has contributed so much more.

She became a committee member in 2009 and was soon nominated as Treasurer. She held that role for six years until 2015 bringing her considerable expertise to the position and helped keep the Club financially stable, as well as enabling it to undertake several improvement projects to our lawns and Clubhouse.

Latterly, as President of our Club, Susan displayed vital leadership thinking and abilities. She played a key role in the 2019 negotiations with WCC that secured our new 10-year lease (plus 10 year right of renewal) for the Club. This also included agreement for us to continue with our annual Have a Go functions despite some opposition from a neighbour.

Susan has also been Tournament Manager for a range of WCA, CNZ and Club tournaments.

Susan has also thoroughly upgraded our website making it much more useful and user friendly for members and as well as attracting new players and Have a Go punters. She continues to manage and update the website.

What you maybe haven’t seen is Susan’s capable 'behind the scenes' organising abilities. These have included chairing, planning and overseeing our successful Centenary events, and several of our annual opening and closing functions. She helped plan and co-ordinate Paul's memorial service and her excellent tribute on our behalf at Paul’s memorial service was appreciated by us all. Her organisational abilities are second to none.

As a player, Susan has represented the Club at Interclub and tournaments across NZ including invitation events. She has had her share of successes and continues to learn and improve her game at every opportunity.

Susan also served as the WCA Treasurer for seven years. In that role she brought her expertise to the WCA finances benefiting all the Wellington Clubs and also took on the role of Finance Manager for the AC World Championships held in Wellington in 2018. Susan had a strong role in the WCA restructuring committee that developed the proposals for the WCA’s future, recently accepted by all Clubs.

Away from croquet, Susan is a keen bridge player, gardener, regular concert and theatre-goer, an avid traveller and photographer and besotted dog owner.