The team from Austar cooked dinner for the family’s at Ronald McDonald House.
Tom has been a very active member of the Henderson Rotary Club for over 14 years. He was club President for the Rotary year 2011-2012 and has introduced 7 new members, contributing to the success in growth of the Henderson club while many others are declining in memberships.
The Henderson Rotary Club has completed countless projects in the West Auckland community, and Tom is always there to help. Recently they regenerated the pond area at Waitakere Hospital, turning what was an overgrown mess, into an inviting space where staff and patients can enjoy being outdoors while eating their lunch.
During his year as club President, Tom and his wife Jess organized a charity business luncheon with then Prime Minister, John Key as guest speaker. After the event, Rotary was approached by the Western Leader, they wanted to work together to recreate the event the next year. 10 years later, and the Prime Minister luncheon is one of Henderson Rotary Club’s biggest annual fundraisers. More recently they have worked with the Well Foundation and money raised has gone to help fund a mobile health vehicle, to visit those unable to get to the doctor, as well as a children’s ward at Waitakere Hospital. One year, over $30,000.00 was raised!
Tom’s wife, Jess is a member of the Rotalite West Auckland Club, a satellite club run by the Henderson club. Their home quickly became Rotalite HQ and they have hosted many projects and meetings. An annual project that the Rotalite club does at Christmas is collecting items to go into packs for the rough sleepers in the community. The team put together packs filled with hygiene items and some sweet treats, then deliver to the rough sleepers. Last year, Tom’s son Jason and his partner Dani joined Tom and Jess as they drove around town delivering the packs.
For 8 years, Tom has been a guest lecturer at Unitec’s Real Estate course. He talks to each class about Auctions and structure around their own businesses. While some people might not want to share their secrets to success, Tom is more than happy to share his experience of 29 years in a no frills approach to the realities of Real Estate, allowing him to give back to an industry that has served him very well.