Shona Dodd, one of our more recent inductees, gave us an interesting talk on her background, work experiences and activities as a Rotarian.
Shona has been a Rotarian for 10 years initially in the Nelson West Club. She has a long-term interest in health and wellbeing as a result of having had asthma as a child which helped develop her interest in this field.
Born in Nightcaps, Shona grew up in Invercargill. She has been married to Alex for 37 years who she initially met on a blind date. He is soccer mad as are their two children Chris and Stephanie.
Both of their kids are happily married and she has two grandchildren who she loves spending time and doing things with. In addition to being into family she also finds it great to be connected to young people in other aspects of her life which she feels helps keep us young.
One of Shona’s more interesting hobbies is making chainmail. jewellery. She took it up a few years ago and loves it. She is currently working on a complicated design which involves creating an old weave from the days of the Knights of the Round Table that was used to make armour.
Shona works hard as a senior health and safety advisor whose main job is making sure that the dinner we buy today is safe to eat. Her company deals with customers in over 40 countries and part of her role is to ensure all incoming products into New Zealand are declared safe with her forte being to keep us safe as a result. locked landmass which makes this possible.
Shona’ other passion is the Rotary Youth Exchange program. She especially enjoys working with some very exciting people to help those going through this experience come back to Rotary later in their lives. In closing, Shona believes that we can change the world one person at a time and is looking forward to how she can contribute as an active member of Papanui Rotary going forward.
She is certainly kept busy with 1,200 people are under her umbrella. Her staff inspect all meat to ensure it is fit for purpose with most food testing being conducted in a large Auckland laboratory that is open 24/7. Any issues with food are returned by supermarkets to their testers. She also manages both domestic and international certification to ensure all products after fit for purpose.
One of the aims within New Zealand is to be to be TB free by 2015 via possum eradication. Another issue currently involves a trapping program in the North Island based on eradicating the fruit fly which can be dangerous work and part of her role is to ensure the safety of all field staff.
The current cattle crisis is an especially large endeavour Shona is involved with that requires an extensive effort in order to ensure farms are clean and able to restock. This is a huge imposition for farmers as every vehicle coming in and out has to be disinfected. Another major issue for farmers is that every cow on a property must be killed in order to work towards complete eradication in New Zealand. Along with Norway, we are one of only two countries taking this approach as a function of being a small water locked landmass which makes this possible.Shona’ other passion is the Rotary Youth Exchange program. She especially enjoys working with some very exciting people to help those going through this experience come back to Rotary later in their lives. In closing, Shona believes that we can change the world one person at a time and is looking forward to how she can contribute as an active member of Papanui Rotary going forward.
