Kua ingoatia a Stephen Town hei Kaiwhakahaere Mātāmua o Pūkenga Aotearoa IST. I tēnei wā, ko ia te kaiārahi o te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau. Ka tīmata a Stephen i tēnei mahi hōu ōna ā te 6 o Hōngongoi 2020.
E ai ki a Barry Jordan, te Heamana o te Poari Whakawhāriki o IST ka nui te harikoa o te Poari i te whakaaetanga o tētahi tangata pūmanawa pērā i a Stephen i muri i te kimihanga whānui i te tangata tōtika ka riro māna e ārahi te whakatūtanga o te Pūtahi ā-motu hou, ka mana te tū ā te 1 o Paengawhāwhā 2020.
“Neke atu i te 25 tau a Stephen e mahi ana hei Kaiwhakahaere Mātāmua, me te mahi i roto i te rāngai kawanatanga ā-rohe, kua tino kitea he tautōhito a Stephen ki te tuitui tāngata i te wā o ngā hurihanga matatini. Nāna anō i ārahi ngā kaupapa whakarite tūranga mahi mō te hunga kua roa e noho koremahi ana i te Tonga o Akarana, ka mutu ka whiria te taura here me ngā iwi hapū hoki o reira.”
“I te kimi mātou i tētahi he tino pūkenga ia ki te tuitui tāngata, he tautōhito hoki ki te mahi rautaki me te ārahi i ngā whakahaere nui, matatini hoki ki te whakatutuki i ngā painga whakahirahira. I moana tonu te whakaaro o te pae whiriwhiri me ōna tautōhito anō mai te rāngai, ko Stephen te tangata tika hei kawe i tēnei tūranga.”
I kī mai a Jordan e whakamīharo ana te pae whiriwhiri ki te mauritau o te arotahi rautaki o Stephen, tana āhei ki te tuitui tāngata, te whakarite hononga mauroa, whaihua hoki me ngā kaiwhaipānga, me te mārō hoki o te hononga ōna ki te rāngai mātauranga mātāmua, arā, te wāhi i tīmata ai ana māhi kaiārahi.
He tāura a Stephen o te Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic, nō reira kua pūmau tōna ngākaunui ki te mātauranga ahumahinga. E rua āna tama kei te pūnaha o BCITO e mahi ana, ā, ka puta rāua tahi hei kāmura i tēnei tau.
“Nōku te hōnore ki te kawe i tēnei tūranga, ā, tino ongaonga ana au ki ngā wero nui kei te tū mai. Ko te tino huarahi kua tuwhera mai ki a tātou ko tērā o te ārahitanga hou, ā, kia horo te korikori a te rāngai mātauranga ahumahinga, whakangungu hoki kia rite ia mō ngā wero ka puta i roto i ngā rua tekau tau e tū mai ana, te kī a Stephen.
Me kī, ko tēnei huarahi kei mua i a tātou, he kōtuku rerenga tahi tōna rite, hei waihanga i tētahi pūnaha mātauranga ahumahinga mauroa, pūnaha rangatira e whakapakari i ngā hapori, i a Aotearoa hoki. E anga whakamua ana au ki te mahitahi me ngā tāngata katoa o te rāngai ki te whakatinana i tētahi hurihanga whaitake, mauroa hoki.”
Haurongo
Neke atu i te 20 tau a Stephen e kawe ana i ngā tūranga kaiwhakahaere mātamua i te rāngai tūmatanui, arā, te rāngai mātauranga mātāmua, ngā kāwanatanga ā-rohe me ngā waka haere whenua. I tēnei wā kei te tau whakamutunga o ngā tau e whitu ōna hei Kaiwhakahaere Mātāmua o te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau, ko tāna i reira he ārahi i tētahi whakahaere hou e tuku ratonga ki ngā tāngata o Akarana.
I ngā tau ki mua ko Stephen te Kaiwhakahaere Mātāmua o te Kaunihera a-rohe o Franklin, te Kaiwhakahaere Mātāmua o te Kaunihera o Tauranga me te Kaiwhakahaere ā-rohe o Waka Kotahi mō Tāmaki Makarau me te Tai Tokerau.
Kua whai tohu Executive MBA a Stephen mai i te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.