Andrew John (AJ) Buttimore
ajbuttimore.fg@gmail.com
AJ’s a 27 year old business owner, operating in the building sector. AJ was first introduced to our sporting way of life at the age of 5 by his father, and he continues to hunt the Waikato area. Wing shooting is AJ’s passion, and he’s a very active upland game and waterfowl hunter and is well known in the Waikato region. An advocate for the German Short-Haired Pointer breed, AJ participates in both the Auckland and Provincial GSP clubs. Living on a farm in the Papatoetoe area has given AJ the opportunity to work very closely with ARC and local schools to plant over 4,000 native trees on land unsuitable for farming over the past 4 years. He’s been an Eden Papakura Clevedon Miranda (EPCM) F&G Club committee member for thirteen years; and is interested in youth education and as such has been the club’s youth convenor for two years.
In AJ’s view "The traditional concept of anglers and shooters organising and controlling their own sport is the correct base model; and local people need to be involved in resolving local issues, so the regional concept carries a lot of weight. I believe in the fish and game having a closer relationship with licence holders. This should go hand and hand in involving youth to ensure that our recreation today is still the tradition in years to come. Habitat must be maintained, managed and expanded to ensure waterfowl and upland bird numbers don’t decay, and that water quality issues are managed for the improvement of our region’s resources”.
Craig Carey
craigcarey.fg@gmail.com
Craig's a 36 year old farmer from the Te Kuiti district. Craig's been a passionate hunter and angler all his life, and wishes to follow the example set by the previous 3 generations of his family who have put something back into their sports by taking up roles in Fish and Game and Acclimatisation societies. Many may remember Craig's grandfather who served hunters and anglers for 28 years, and his uncle who served as an honorary ranger, and is still a dedicated and knowledgeable fisherman in the region. It will be their examples and knowledge that Craig will draw on.
As Craig says "Hunting and fishing have defined large parts of my character, and farming has given me a good insight into conflicts between the different groups that should, in reality share a close relationship and similar goals. I’ll bring an ethic of hard work and a common sense approach to getting the best from our resources".
Nick Foster
nickfoster.fg@gmail.com
A 40 year old born and bred kiwi, Nick lives in North Shore City with his wife and daughter. The past game bird season was Nick's 31st, and he's actively pursued trout and game fish both nationwide in NZ and also overseas for the past 30 years. An ardent wing shooter, he spends a good deal of time hunting upland game throughout the upper half of the North Island, and in summer can be found chasing trout in the Auckland Waikato, and other regions. Nick's a member of the Upper Piako Wetland Management Association, and served as the Association’s Secretary in its formative years. Having held management positions in various multi-national businesses, Nick has the skill set as well as the desire to make a meaningful and positive contribution to Auckland Waikato Fish & Game, and to serve the best interests of the region’s license and stakeholders. Nick leads a group of avid waterfowlers who manage and maintain a wetland area on crown land for the public good and he regularly invites new participants to our sports to enjoy new experiences.
Says Nick "Helping a kid or a newbie bowl their first duck or hook their first trout is the pinnacle of enjoyment I can get from our sports. Teaching them responsibility, and about ethics - its all part of being a sportsman".
Tim Holland
timholland.fg@gmail.com
Tim's a 32 year old Sales Engineer from Auckland. He's been a passionate hunter since he was young, for which he thanks his dad. As a lifetime hunter and occasional fisherman, Tim's committed to ensuring our right to hunt and fish, and our success whilst doing so, continues unabated into the future. Tim has a 7 year old boy that he takes out hunting and shooting as often as he can and Tim's determined to make sure his boy has the same or better opportunities as Tim had. A member of the Upper Piako Wetland Management Association, Tim's also a key member of a group of hunters that maintains a significant area of publicly accessible wetland in the Upper Waikato.
Tim's responsibilities to his group include annual recruitment of a junior shooter to join and enjoy the opening weekend of each shooting season.
James Pettley
jamespettley.fg@gmail.com
James is 33 and has lived in the Waikato most of his life, working in the rural sector. A well travelled sportsman, James has hunted and fished throughout New Zealand and overseas. James is very active in field sports, and has witnessed first hand changes to habitat resulting in the reduction of sporting opportunity, something he wishes to help slow the progress of. James sees access to game birds and fish for all as a birth right that needs to be protected for future generations. "Standing as a councillor I will bring a determination to improve our sports based on my experiences both here, and overseas".
Guy Ralph
guyralph.fg@gmail.com
Guy is 36 and is married to Rachel. Between them they have a family of 6 spaniels and 2 labradors. Guy lives near Te Awamutu and owns a number of businesses in the rural sector, including Auckland Waikato's first licensed Registered Release Site for upland game. Guy is hugely passionate about field sports and fears that we are losing opportunities for current and future generations. Guy is avid in his pursuits of upland game hunting, gun dog trialling and conservation of habitat. A member of many clubs and associations (The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Te Awamutu F&G for 9 years, Ohinemuri F&G 5 years, Working Spaniel Club 8 years, Waikato Gundog club 2 years and Waikato Gunclub),Guy is a recognised expert on game bird husbandry and management practices, as well as being an enlightened and environmentally aware dairy farmer. Guy has been active in the last ten years encouraging more newcomers to our sports; and regularly takes juniors out hunting. He relishes putting a fly on the water, mainly fishing in waters outside the AWFG area but see similar issues facing other regions.
Guy's been a regular attendee of AWF&G council meetings for many years.
Dickie Sansome
dickiesansome.fg@gmail.com
Dickie is 43 years old, married to Helen and has lived and worked in the Northern Waikato for 6 years. He lives on a small farm and earns his living growing crops. Dickie's been a game bird hunter for over 30 years, but probably has spent more time controlling predators & pest species than hunting game. A very active member of Te Kauwhata Fish and Game Association, Dickie was elected Secretary of the club this year. Currently working on a project to encourage young hunters by teaching youngster’s gun handling and safety skills, Dickie is also coaching them to improve target shooting.
In his own words "I have been an entrant in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, and am working towards an award by implementing the Judge's advice on my own farm. I believe that farming with respect for the environment is key to maintaining and increasing both fish and game populations".
Grant Summerell
grantsummerell.fg@gmail.com
Grant is a 42 year old native of Morrinsville, where he lives and works as a solicitor. With his Labrador Jeff, Grant is often seen in or around the region's wetlands, rivers and drains hunting duck and upland birds. Grant is active in the creation and preservation of habitat and considers that now is an opportune time to make a deeper contribution to our sports. While Grant is not presently an avid angler he says "It is my intention to use my skills to improve hunting and fishing conditions, and hopefully encourage more people to be involved in order to preserve the future of our sports".
Following, is the group's vision:
Group Statement:
"As a group, our vision is to maximise opportunities for the region’s anglers and game bird hunters. We aim to do this by changing the focus of AWF&G to an organisation dedicated to protecting and growing the available resource – doing so while we keep to the statutory role of the council which is to set the objectives that AWF&G paid staff are tasked with achieving.
The AW region is blessed with abundant (but shrinking) game bird hunting and angling resources and we aim to ensure that those resources are enshrined for our children, our children’s children and so on, in perpetuity.
We aim to set Auckland Waikato Fish and Game paid employees the following objectives:
1. To be at the forefront of the bridging of the relationship between rural land owners and the angler/hunter
2. To mend the relationship between AW and National F&G councils
3. To work with the rural land owners to offer guidance and encouragement to not only preserve wetland and recreational waterway resource, but also access to the resource. This will entail education and assistance, rather than continued negative publicity.
4. To become an organisation that undertakes (or pays other institutions to undertake) research with regard to population trends amongst our fish and game bird resource within the region. Only with research can informed decisions be made as to bag limit setting (applies to both fish and game birds). Thus our intention is to sustainably grow and harvest the game resource.
5. To move towards a more educational focus, with greater communication with license holders. Only by communicating F&G’s vision and strategy can plans be put in place to tackle issues and individual objectives. Education of individual license holders will increase the overall knowledge of not only WHAT F&G is, but HOW F&G best works for them.
6. To increase revenue generation. This is to be done through increasing sales of licenses (rather than simply raising license prices), encouraging recruitment of new participants (junior or otherwise) to our sports while retaining our current existing license holders, and through selling of consultancy services to the areas of the community that stand to benefit from the skills of our expert staff.
By achieving our stated objectives within a 3 year period, AW F&G will be well placed to further the organisation's ability to consult, educate, organise and generate additional income streams.
Why your vote is important to them:
"As both a group and individuals, our team members are passionate about our sports and what they mean to us. Each of us recognise that we have an ongoing commitment and responsibility to our outdoor angling and game bird hunting pursuits, and that recognition has brought us together. Our backgrounds and professional skills are diverse, however we share a united vision of the future and will use our skills to best serve the resource, and in turn the hunters and anglers who enjoy using the resource".
How you can help them:
"We know that kiwis embrace an attitude of “she’ll be right mate”. That’s what makes us kiwis! But the fact is, that unless you vote in the election, and encourage your hunting and angling mates to as well, you can expect another 3 years of the same as what you are currently getting. Now for some of you, what you are currently getting may in your view be perfectly adequate – but we need you to think outside of your own circumstances to those who are not so fortunate. For every license that is not renewed, that’s one more ally that your sport has lost".
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