WhÄnau Äwhina Plunket is celebrating the announcement that Mrs Christine Lake has received a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to Plunket in the New Year’s Honours list today.
Chief Executive Amanda Malu says she’s delighted that Mrs Lake has been honoured in this way.
“She was the inaugural chairperson of the Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust from November 2017 to 2020. Her mahi led our organisation through a time of significant change as we rebranded and moved to a pro-equity focus in 2020.
“She was also a strong advocate for the introduction of electronic health records, a leading-edge IT project used daily by WhÄnau Äwhina Plunket nurses,” she says.
Mrs Malu says she is extremely proud to offer her congratulations to Christine Lake on behalf of everyone at WhÄnau Äwhina Plunket.
Christchurch-based Christine Lake was elected to Plunket’s National Board in 2010. She was elected Deputy President in 2014 and became Acting President in 2016.
Mrs Lake led the Board through the recruitment of a new Chief Executive and navigating the organisation through the transition from the federated structure to a single Charitable Trust in 2017.
This involved meeting with the Area Societies across the country to seek consensus on the proposed governance structure, and in late 2016, the membership approved the governance changes.
Mrs Lake initially joined the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society in 2000 and was Treasurer of Fendalton sub-branch, then President of the North West Christchurch branch. She was elected President of the Canterbury Area Society in 2005, and she led the new build project to create the Canterbury Plunket Centre in Twigger Street in 2008.