Former South Waikato mayor Jenny Shattock. Photo / Supplied
Former South Waikato mayor Jenny Shattock. Photo / Supplied
Jennifer Robyn Shattock
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government and economic development.
Spending nearly a quarter of a century as a representative of the people in South Waikato and being a driving force behind economic development in Tokoroa has earned Jenny Shattock a spot on this year’s New Year Honours list.
The retired former South Waikato mayor has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government and economic development.
Shattock stepped down at this year’s local body elections having served as mayor since 2016. She was the deputy mayor for nine years before that and a councillor since 1998 - bringing her time as an elected representative in local government to an impressive 24 years.
South Waikato District mayor Jenny Shattock just before she retired after 24 years in local government. Photo / Supplied
Her acknowledgement comes from her work in driving economic development in the region, including Fonterra’s investment into a new milk powder dryer at Lichfield, which opened in 2016, and attracting development of a distribution centre in Tokoroa in 2021 for New Zealand imports and exports by Singapore-based OFI.
Jenny Shattock's work for the community goes as far back as 1995. She's pictured with a carving that was erected in the Tokoroa town centre as part of her role at the time. Photo / File
Her time as mayor has seen an increase of 10 per cent gross domestic product, employment growth of 8 per cent and an improvement in mean household incomes of 32 per cent between 2016 and 2021.
She strongly advocated for South Waikato Investment Trust’s new trade training facility in Tokoroa and instigated several forestry industry symposiums in 2019 and 2020, leading to the establishment of the Central North Island Wood Council and a training and development programme for rangatahi.
She helped establish the Impact Hub in Tokoroa in 2021 to support local entrepreneurs, start-ups and build digital capability in the community.
She established the WORKit programme in South Waikato in 2021 for rangatahi not in education, employment or training all while holding down voluntary roles including as Rangiura Trust board member and the Timber Museum of New Zealand Trust board member.
Born and raised in South Waikato, she is also a member of the Tokoroa Council of Social Services.
