John’s address was a very interesting and well organised reflection of his life, covering his early days, business experience and as a Rotarian.
John and his parents moved to Lower Hutt when he was three and his schooling was at Hutt Central and Hutt Valley High School. Sport played a big part in his life whilst at High School and he enjoyed playing in Cricket, Soccer and Tennis teams and also learning something of the art of Judo.
It was whilst at High School that he worked his way through the Duke of Edinburgh system, finally achieving his Gold Award, the last part of which entailed a 5 day tramp through the Tararuas, in very inclement weather. John attributed his love of tramping and his success in the Duke of Edinburgh system to (HVHS teacher at the time) David Gledhill.
On leaving school, John worked for an Insurance Company. Every 5 years, the company he worked for sent a team of 4 tennis players to Melbourne to compete against the teams from other offices. After competing in trials, John was selected for the team, playing in Singles and Doubles. He was 23.
Leaving the company after 7/8 years, John went to work for Lynne’s father. They worked together to develop this company and then over the years, he purchased, developed and built up a considerable number of businesses, on his way to becoming a very successful business man.
John was introduced to Rotary by the late Dave Smith and joined Eastern Hutt Rotary in 1986. He became President 1993 – 94 (the youngest President in the District at the time) and District Governor 2001 – 02. There were over 600 Rotarians plus partners (total, just over 1,000) at John’s Conference in Lower Hutt. He attributed the success of the Conference to Conference Organiser Colin Alford.
Continuing his involvement with Rotary, John was invited to take up the position of Rotary Regional Foundation Coordinator. He served from 2011 – 14 and was passionate about the Foundation. His area included New Zealand, the Eastern seaboard of Australia and many of the Pacific Islands. This involved a good deal of travel and regular meetings at the Rotary International World Headquarters in Chicago. Such was his status at International level, that he was invited by several Rotary International Presidents, to be their official representative at several overseas Conferences.
Thank-you, John Cole – the Sportsman, the Businessman and the Rotarian.