'Learning curve' for new president

PRESIDENTIAL: Carterton deputy fire chief Bryan Styles has been elected president of the United Fire Brigades' Association of New Zealand. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Carterton deputy fire chief Bryan Styles has been voted the 136th president of the United Fire Brigades' Association of New Zealand.

Mr Styles, who has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 33 years, was voted in as president of the national association at the weekend after serving only a day as vice-president. The former president stood down, forcing his automatic promotion.

"I was vice-president on Saturday and president on Sunday," Mr Styles said. "Normally you'd be vice-president for 12 months but I got the shortest term that only lasted a day."

Mr Styles had initially served six years on the technical panel of the UFBA that administers the annual and biannual firefighting challenges, including driving, combat, waterway and road crash rescue.

Mr Styles, a mechanic by trade and workshop-owner who formerly played prop for Carterton, Gladstone and Wairarapa-Bush, said he was to get a crash course in presidential duties over coming weeks.

He will travel to service functions across New Zealand over the 12 months of his presidency, he said, to "shake hands and pin medals on chests" among other formal appointments.

"It'll be a huge learning curve. It's lucky there won't be a lot of functions over Christmas, so I can come to grips with what's planned for the next 12 months," he said.

"It's more or less a figurehead role - the president and vice president have no voting rights - but we still sit in on all the board meetings and take part in all the discussions and the service honours functions that are within our reach as well."

Mr Styles said honours ceremonies include presentation of the gold star that is awarded for 25 years' service and, increasingly, double gold stars in recognition of 50 years' service.

He said the UFBA also was aiming to improve retention of younger association members and will be handing out recruitment leaflets during the Wairarapa food bank drive that runs later today.

The association represents 485 brigades comprising 11,000 members, including about 3000 career firefighters, who are drawn from urban, rural, defence and industrial forces.

"The UFBA does a heap of work. We lobby government as advocates and generally provide advocacy, administer service honours, resolve disputes and operate a benevolent fund among other benefits on offer to members."

Max Robinson, father of the incumbent fire chief Wayne Robinson, was the last Carterton firefighter to have been elected to the presidency, in 1985.