New CEO for Age Concern Otago

Retiring Age Concern Otago executive officer Debbie George hands over the reins of the...
Retiring Age Concern Otago executive officer Debbie George hands over the reins of the organisation to new executive officer Niall Shepherd. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD
Retiring as Age Concern Otago executive officer will give Debbie George a chance to slow down and spend more time chasing the West Coast’s whitebait.

Ms George, who stepped down on Friday after five years in the role, has passed the baton to experienced advocate for older people and former Age Concern staff member Niall Shepherd.

"I know that Niall will be fantastic in the role, and I’m thrilled to be passing the baton on to him," she said.

Ms George said recent health issues had prompted the decision to slow down, sell up and move to the West Coast.

"I’m a great believer in making the move to semi-retirement or retirement while you are still fit and well enough to enjoy it," she said.

While she has retired from the executive officer role, Ms George will continue to do project work for Age Concern Otago, specifically taking on research relating to the reach and effectiveness of the organisation’s programmes.

Among the areas to be covered by the research will be the practical difference Age Concern’s Silver Tech smartphone courses make in people’s lives and what in-home support is available for over-65s in terms of mental health and wellbeing.

"Identifying people’s needs in these areas can help Age Concern to target resourcing and services to be most effective," she said.

Ms George leaves Age Concern Otago in good heart, with a range of successful programmes operating in Dunedin and across Otago, most with the support of dedicated volunteers.

"The volunteer effort and heart for the organisation has always staggered me — our volunteers make a $1million contribution to the Otago community every year," she said.

"That has helped us to grow to support about 30,000 people each year, and to be able to provide more specialised services for our people."

Bringing the Waitaki region under the Age Concern Otago umbrella had been a positive move, as had supporting the formation of Taieri Age Connect.

"I’m proud of all the advocacy work that we have done for our older people over the years," she said.

"I also want to acknowledge the Age Concern Otago board — it has been an absolute privilege to work with them.

"And the staff team have been wonderful. I am full of admiration for them."

She also thanked the funders and many other organisations which helped to support the work of Age Concern Otago.

Taking over as executive officer from this week, Mr Shepherd will be combining the role with the part-time role of RSA Welfare Trust support adviser, in which he works to support veterans.

"There are a lot of synergies between the two roles, in that I am working mostly with older people and many of the networks are similar," he said.

Mr Shepherd worked for Age Concern Otago about eight years ago on funding and projects, and so has a good working knowledge of the organisation.

"Now I can see that it is a larger and more developed organisation than it was back then, so I still have a lot of learning to do," he said.

He believed it would be invaluable to have Ms George as a researcher and available to provide advice when needed.

 - brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz

 

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