By Hayley Gastmeier
This year Maree Roy will add another string to her bow, as the newest member of the Martinborough Community Board.
Mrs Roy was appointed to the role following a by-election held late last year where she was the sole nominee.
Having lived in Martinborough for 43 years, she is now retired and belongs to a number of groups and organisations.
“So I’m a local now and I’m fairly familiar with the town and how it operates.”
Mrs Roy says she is looking forward to working with the board “to make Martinborough a really good place for people to live”.
She said it was important to consider the demographic of the population living within the town.
“There’s obviously lots of retired people that live here, and the population that’s been here for a while, including myself, are getting older, so it would be good to have quality services that suit them.”
Mrs Roy said it was also essential to have adequate facilities to serve the many young people and young children that lived in Martinborough.
“I’m also very interested in making the town cleaner, although it is pretty clean already, and more attractive.”
Mrs Roy, formerly a clinical biochemist, is already heavily involved in the community.
She is a member of Red Cross Wairarapa, to which she was recently recognised with a 10-year service award, writes a monthly column in the Martinborough Star, and is on the Wharekaka Trust Board.
She also facilitates a monthly book group through U3A, which is a social organisation largely catering to the older population.
As a music lover, she would like to see more cultural entertainment and activities in the town.
Mrs Roy said there had been many positive changes during her four decades in Martinborough, watching it grow from a “little farming town” in the pre-wine era, to a thriving tourism hub.
“The more the merrier,” she said.
“I’m very passionate about Martinborough, that’s for sure. I love living here, even after all these years.”
Mrs Roy can often be spotted around the town, walking her beloved whippet.
