Congratulations to Barry Mills and Susan Jenkins, who have been made life members of Abbeyfield New Zealand in recognition of their exceptional service.
Barry has been an active committee member and volunteer for Abbeyfield Nelson for more than 16 years and was a director for Abbeyfield Properties Ltd for 10 years. Susan was the Executive Officer for Abbeyfield New Zealand for 8 years, until she retired in August this year. She was pivotal in the organisation’s consolidation and growth strategy, and provided great support to committees managing Abbeyfield houses and working to establish new houses.
Barry became involved with Abbeyfield as a volunteer gardener for the Abbeyfield house in Stoke, and went on to chair Abbeyfield Nelson from 2009 to 2023. He continues to be involved with the Abbeyfield house in Tāhunanui, as co-chair of the house management committee, and asset manager.
Susan established strong relationships with committees managing Abbeyfield houses and provided sage advice and encouragement to committees wanting to establish new Abbeyfield houses in their communities. She engaged effectively with politicians, government and local government officials and established connections with other organisations in the community housing sector.