History of IABC Wellington
By founding president Lucy Sanderson-Gammon
The idea to re-establish an IABC chapter in New Zealand was hatched by Adrian Cropley – then Vice Chair of IABC Victoria – in July 2006. He and two other IABC Australia members (Lorrie Lennon and Meryl David ) were running the Internal Communications Masterclass for Arc Group in Sydney that I was attending, along with another Wellingtonian, Paul Raynor.
Given I’d had to travel to Australia for the masterclass, the idea of providing better professional development for communicators here in Wellington appealed. I offered to run it for the first year to get the chapter and board established, and enlisted support from a number of senior communication professionals (pictured, below).
We held our first board meeting in November 2006. At that time there were no IABC chapters in New Zealand and only 14 ‘members at large’. We were aware there had been a New Zealand-wide chapter some years before that had folded, and so we intentionally established a Wellington only chapter, believing it wasn’t possible to meet the very different membership needs of all of our major cities in one chapter. The aim was to give communication professionals in the Wellington region access to the latest research and thinking in terms of good practice globally, quality professional development opportunities locally, and access to a network of communications colleagues, both here and overseas.
The Wellington chapter was given official development chapter status in January 2007, and full chapter status in July 2007.
Within a year, membership had grown by nearly 400 per cent, four times the goal we set for ourselves. We had over 70 members by November 2007, including three corporate memberships – Ideas Shop, Bank of New Zealand and Department of Internal Affairs.
It’s thanks to the hard graft of that original board and all those who have volunteered their time over the years that the chapter is still going strong today and continues to benefit hundreds of communication professionals in the Wellington region.
The idea to re-establish an IABC chapter in New Zealand was hatched by Adrian Cropley – then Vice Chair of IABC Victoria – in July 2006. He and two other IABC Australia members (Lorrie Lennon and Meryl David ) were running the Internal Communications Masterclass for Arc Group in Sydney that I was attending, along with another Wellingtonian, Paul Raynor.
Given I’d had to travel to Australia for the masterclass, the idea of providing better professional development for communicators here in Wellington appealed. I offered to run it for the first year to get the chapter and board established, and enlisted support from a number of senior communication professionals (pictured, below).
We held our first board meeting in November 2006. At that time there were no IABC chapters in New Zealand and only 14 ‘members at large’. We were aware there had been a New Zealand-wide chapter some years before that had folded, and so we intentionally established a Wellington only chapter, believing it wasn’t possible to meet the very different membership needs of all of our major cities in one chapter. The aim was to give communication professionals in the Wellington region access to the latest research and thinking in terms of good practice globally, quality professional development opportunities locally, and access to a network of communications colleagues, both here and overseas.
The Wellington chapter was given official development chapter status in January 2007, and full chapter status in July 2007.
Within a year, membership had grown by nearly 400 per cent, four times the goal we set for ourselves. We had over 70 members by November 2007, including three corporate memberships – Ideas Shop, Bank of New Zealand and Department of Internal Affairs.
It’s thanks to the hard graft of that original board and all those who have volunteered their time over the years that the chapter is still going strong today and continues to benefit hundreds of communication professionals in the Wellington region.
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Left: IABC Wellington board members and special guests at the Wellesely Hotel for the official launch of the IABC Wellington chapter in July 2007.
L-R: Bish Mukherjee (then Asia Pacific Regional Director), Luke Thoms (Board Administrator from June 2007), Adrian Cropley (then IABC Victoria President) and other IABC Wgtn board members, Julia Napier (Professional Development Director), Lucy Sanderson-Gammon (President), Shona Brown (Treasurer), Anna Kominik (Communications Director), Simon Pleasants (VP and Sponsorship Director), Paul Raynor (Membership Chair). Not pictured: Zena Groom, initial Board Administrator. |
Notable milestones
- July 2007 – IABC Wellington chapter officially launched under inaugural President Lucy Sanderson-Gammon
- November 2007 – First three corporate members on board: Ideas Shop, Bank of New Zealand and Department of Internal Affairs
- January 2011 – Michael Mead (2010 President) appointed Global Team Director Asia-Pacific region. In May 2017 Michael joined the IABC World Editorial Committee
- February 2011 – Simon Pleasants (President 2008) appointed to the IABC World Finance Committee
- October 2014 – Victoria Dew (President 2011 to 2014) becomes Founding APAC Regional Chair
- December 2015 – Visit by IABC Global Chair Michael Ambjorn (IABC Global Chair Barbara Gibson visited in October 2008)
- December 2015 – First Boardroom lunch held with JacksonStone & Partners sponsorship
- June 2015 and 2016 – Shaun Jones (current President) presents at IABC World Conference in San Francisco and New Orleans
- July 2016 – Mini World Conference held
- February 2017 – Jennifer Andrewes wins IABC Chapter Leader of the Year Award
- August 2017 – IABC Wellington chapter celebrates its 10 year anniversary with a special event at Homewood
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A letter from founder of IABC New Zealand, Tony Farrington
It was a wonderful surprise to hear from you that IABC is flourishing in Wellington and celebrating its 10th anniversary. Achieving the milestone is a significant accomplishment. It could not be attained without the enthusiasm and dedication of its members and office bearers, particularly in an era when volunteerism is on the wane and the internet provides so many competing opportunities.
I was privileged to play a role in establishing a New Zealand IABC Chapter about 30 years ago. It grew rapidly thanks to the efforts of members like Kathrine Judd, Gillian de Beer, David Basset, John Bishop, Bill Day, Bruce Wallace, Bruce Kohn, Leon Grice, Jo van Saarloos, Jo Wills and many others.
We established the chapter because IABC enabled professional development unavailable elsewhere in New Zealand. It was prior to the internet revolution and accessing services from IABC presented challenges.
I recall attending IABC board meetings in America, after being appointed Asia Pacific Director, at which we agonised over decisions about converting all the IABC’s files for computerization. This was several years before it became essential business practice. The project was driven by members who held senior communications positions with technology companies. They had the vision and wisdom to see the future long before others. And that was the IABC’s appeal: its diverse, extensive membership provided knowledge and insights unavailable elsewhere.
Even though we were a small chapter at the bottom of the world whose accents amused American members, we found IABC very accommodating and generous with its knowledge and resources.
However, it worked both ways. Our members had value to give too – they discovered their work matched the highest international standards. This was evident from the prestigious gold quill awards they won and their worthwhile contributions speaking at international conferences and workshops. We even provided a keynote speaker for an IABC annual conference in Canada when Prime Minister David Lange acknowledged the organisation’s prestige by addressing it.
Our IABC membership also provided opportunities unforeseen when forming a Chapter – multi-nationals used its membership list to identify professionals with whom to work in New Zealand.
It is gratifying that IABC is again a vehicle for professional development in New Zealand and that business communicators continue to benefit from it.
Congratulations on reaching a significant milestone.
It was a wonderful surprise to hear from you that IABC is flourishing in Wellington and celebrating its 10th anniversary. Achieving the milestone is a significant accomplishment. It could not be attained without the enthusiasm and dedication of its members and office bearers, particularly in an era when volunteerism is on the wane and the internet provides so many competing opportunities.
I was privileged to play a role in establishing a New Zealand IABC Chapter about 30 years ago. It grew rapidly thanks to the efforts of members like Kathrine Judd, Gillian de Beer, David Basset, John Bishop, Bill Day, Bruce Wallace, Bruce Kohn, Leon Grice, Jo van Saarloos, Jo Wills and many others.
We established the chapter because IABC enabled professional development unavailable elsewhere in New Zealand. It was prior to the internet revolution and accessing services from IABC presented challenges.
I recall attending IABC board meetings in America, after being appointed Asia Pacific Director, at which we agonised over decisions about converting all the IABC’s files for computerization. This was several years before it became essential business practice. The project was driven by members who held senior communications positions with technology companies. They had the vision and wisdom to see the future long before others. And that was the IABC’s appeal: its diverse, extensive membership provided knowledge and insights unavailable elsewhere.
Even though we were a small chapter at the bottom of the world whose accents amused American members, we found IABC very accommodating and generous with its knowledge and resources.
However, it worked both ways. Our members had value to give too – they discovered their work matched the highest international standards. This was evident from the prestigious gold quill awards they won and their worthwhile contributions speaking at international conferences and workshops. We even provided a keynote speaker for an IABC annual conference in Canada when Prime Minister David Lange acknowledged the organisation’s prestige by addressing it.
Our IABC membership also provided opportunities unforeseen when forming a Chapter – multi-nationals used its membership list to identify professionals with whom to work in New Zealand.
It is gratifying that IABC is again a vehicle for professional development in New Zealand and that business communicators continue to benefit from it.
Congratulations on reaching a significant milestone.