Geoff has had a variety of
voluntary involvement in the Franklin District where he lives, from smaller
projects such as chairing the building of the new Community / School Hall in
Pukeoware, to bringing together several organisations to develop the Franklin
Economic Development Agency for which he was the inaugural chairman.
He was also a founding trustee of the Auckland Region Economic Development Association Inc. He has been the Chairman of the Franklin Arts, Culture & Learning Trust; Chairman of the Franklin Seniors Forum; member of the Franklin Positive Aging Project; President of the Franklin A&P Society, Chairman of the Franklin Family Support Trust and a member of the Pukekohe North Project appointed by the Mayor.
Very early in his working life Geoff had a parallel career in the Trade Union movement as a President and also Federation of Labour representative on the Distribution Industry Training Board for which he was also the National Examination Moderator.
He has been a teaching member of the Wellington Polytechnic Business School and for the Massey University MBA at Albany Campus.
Geoff was the General Secretary of the National Gay Rights Coalition leading the first street march demonstrations for Gay Human Rights in NZ and also a member of a working group for the establishment of the Human Rights Commission.
He served on the Executive of the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of New Zealand, as a member, Vice President then President, Chaired the Auckland Equine Industry Group, and is a member of the Auckland Council Rural Advisory Panel.
Geoff Smith began working life as a teacher then moved to industry. He was involved in many industries, including high turnover consumer goods, motor vehicle manufacturing, food processing, textile manufacturing, distribution, hospitality and public health.
Geoff left the Goodman Fielder Group (as an HR Manager and Group Industrial Relations Co-Ordinator) in the early 90’s to take up the newly created role of Corporate General Manager HR for the Canterbury Area Health Board.
When Crown Health Enterprises were established, he moved to Western Bay Health based at Tauranga Hospital as their GM HR and then home to South Auckland Health based at Middlemore Hospital as their GM Patient & Staff Safety, Human Resources & Industrial Relations.
During that time, he also chaired the Executive Committee of the Northern Clinical Training Network. He has worked with The Heart Foundation and ProCare Health.
In 2012, Geoff was seconded from ProCare Health Ltd., a Primary Health organisation of 205 General Practices (Doctors), where he was the Senior Manager People, Culture & Communications. Whilst he remained part time with ProCare, his secondment was to Counties Manukau Health as General Manager of the Franklin Locality Clinical Partnership, to develop the first new Locality based whole health system model. He completed that in December 2013.
Geoff left both CMDHB & ProCare to have a break and spent time working voluntarily with several organisations. He was appointed as the caretaker GM of Franklin Family Support trust.
Whilst there he was involved in forming the collective of Franklin Family Support Services, CARE Waitakere and Budgeting & Family Support Services to deliver the new model of Financial Capability services. He also began developing a larger collective of Social Services looking to share administrative and IT Services.
Geoff was the Chairman of the Franklin Community of Social Services (FranCOSS), and a member of the Franklin Health Forum.
In January of 2017 he began working with the Mangere Budgeting and Family Support Services (Mangere Budgeting Services Trust) as the Operations Manager and the Chairman – Strengthening Families Leadership Management Group (Mangere & Manukau Central & East).
Geoff and his partner live in
Pukeoware, Waiuku, and near the Waikato River, at Hazeldene Farm.
