Honorary Life Membership Award - Royal A&P Society NZ

(The citation was written by Debbie Cameron, a past CEO of the RAS of NZ, and delivered by Ben Burgess the current President, at the Annual Conference in Christchurch, June 2026)

We are delighted to be recognising Geoff for the prestigious award of honorary life membership of the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS)

This award is given to individuals in recognition of their outstanding dedication and exceptional contributions to our organisation. They have shown unwavering commitment, exemplary service, and a lasting positive impact on our community. Those who know Geoff will be aware of his contribution, but here is a precis of his time and involvement (which is still ongoing) with the RAS.

Geoff’s presence within the wider RAS organisation first became known in 2007 when he attended the Bay of Islands conference. He had recently been shoulder tapped to join the committee of his local A & P Association, the Franklin A&P Society. At their regular meeting, correspondence from the RAS around the forthcoming annual conference was tabled. The committee was about to agree to their usual procedure, which was to nominate a proxy to act on their behalf, when Geoff asked for further discussion on the matter. “Who or what was the RAS?” When it was explained it was the national and governing body for the A&P Associations of New Zealand, Geoff's response was immediate, “Then we need to be involved and make a contribution.” This typified Geoff’s attitude - he is, and has always been, the sort of person who gets involved and wants to contribute.

It may be timely at this this point it to highlight Geoff’s career outside of the RAS organisation as it outlines the skills and knowledge he brought with him. He began his working life as a teacher but then moved to industry. His involvement in industry included high turnover consumer goods, manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, and public health. He has held many roles in both local and regional level, chairing several committees and helping those less fortunate. The skills developed over this time brought a wealth of knowledge to the RAS, enriching the organisation and its development over the years.

From that first involvement in a 2007, Geoff was noted as a potential RAS Executive candidate. In fact, he was approached at that time, but his view was he needed to consolidate his involvement at local level before anything else. He went on to be Vice President and then President of the Franklin A&P society, as well as becoming a member of the RA S Strategic Task Force.

In 2011 he accepted a nomination for the RAS executive which was successful. Soon after this, portfolios for executive members were introduced stop. Geoff’s portfolio was Legal and Constitutional, and his exceptional literacy skills were put to effective use developing the Memorandum of Commitment for Volunteers, the Resolution Process, assisting with a rewrite of the equestrian rule book and helping prepare a new Constitution for the organisation.

At the same time, Geoff was part of the Northern District Council and served as a committee member, as well as chairing the committee for some years.

During Geoff’s time on the executive there was a real drive to encourage and involve youth within the wider organisation. Continuing the good work of Past President Mick Lester, Geoff championed the youth movement, mentoring rural ambassadors and stock judging candidates who then went on to represent New Zealand in the Australasian competitions. Geoff often travelled with the teams ensuring they were well supported and networked with other like-minded people along the way. Geoff’s abilities were soon recognised by our Australian counterparts, and he was invited to be a guest speaker at the Queensland Youth Conference. Geoff’s involvement and travel with the teams was at his own expense, and to this day he still advocates for youth within the RAS organisation and supports them with an annual financial contribution.

In 2013 Geoff was appointed Vice President of the RAS organisation. It was an unwritten rule if you stood for Vice President, you were prepared to stand for president. Geoff, in his normal humble way, was not sure he had what it took to be President of such a prestigious and longstanding rural organisation. Despite living on a lifestyle block and running a small team of cattle as well as breeding sport horses, Geoff was concerned that he was not a farmer and this was what was needed for such an organisation. He sought advice from a mentor at the time, along with consulting past presidents, Hugh Treadwell and Bruce Orr, before accepting the nomination. As they reminded him it takes all sorts and a range of skills to run an organisation, so being a farmer was not essential.

Serving three years as Vice President and then three years as President rounded out a total of eight years on the executive. A huge commitment and one Geoff relished. During this time, he visited as many A & P shows as he could, attended District Annual General Meetings, supported royal shows and events, as well as attending complementary the events such as Horse of the Year, where he stewarded and acted as announcer and any other role requested of him.

Geoff’s time on the executive finished in 2018, however, he remained involved at the local level. Then COVID-19 hit. The organisation, like many others, underwent challenging times. During the COVID period, Geoff was co-opted back onto the executive for 12 months to aid in navigating the uncharted territory that COVID brought with it.

Ably supported by his long-term partner John fleet, John has also been involved with the RAS. John was the show coordinator for the Franklin A & P Society for many years, as well as being part of their equestrian measuring team. He went on to be the RAS Measuring Convener for several years and is currently a Grade 1 Equestrian Judge.  Geoff and John, are passionate supporters of the organisation and are familiar faces throughout the show year, attending and supporting shows both in the North and South Island.

We owe our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to Geoff, who is due to receive this well-deserved honour. His legacy of service continues to inspire and strengthen our community.