Peter is the one of the founding Trust Members of the Older Persons Community Centre Trust and has been the Chairman of the Trust since inception. Along with Dennis Walsh, he was one of the Rotary Club of Rotorua Lakes' members who initiated Parksyde and saw the development through as part of Rotorua’s Millennium Year 2000 Projects funded by the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust.

A General Practice Structural/Civil Engineer with 45+ years' experience in the consulting engineering sector, Peter was also one of the founders of Sigma Consulting in Rotorua. While now retired, he is still very much involved in Sigma, and engineering in an advisory capacity.

Peter has extensive community involvement, including Rotary, and is also a Board Member, CEAS Treasurer, current advisor and Past Chairman of I&G Insurance Limited.

Married to Liz, he has two grown children and four grandchildren, and continues to travel extensively when he is able.

One of the founding Trustees when Parksyde was built in the year 2000, Dennis has extensive governance and management experience. He built one of the first retirement villages in Rotorua, the Regency Park Estate.

Dennis has a community background, including a long history as a Rotarian. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow.

Born in Dannevirke, his family shifted to Waikite Valley when he was 10 years old to dairy farm. He left school and went engineering and ended up in the heavy engineering field in the pulp and paper industry.

In 2019, Dennis sold Regency Park Estate and retired to Ōtaramarae at Lake Rotoiti. Enjoying the lake edge when not travelling with his partner Kathy, retirement has meant he has had more time for assisting Parksyde and volunteering for other community-based organisations.

Terry has been on the Trust since 2011 and is the Trust Secretary. Originally from Auckland where he qualified as an automotive diesel mechanic, he shifted to Rotorua 50 years ago and aside from building his own house, he spent 30 years in the heavy earthmoving machinery industry.

Now retired, Terry is a frequent visitor to Parksyde where he not only supports as stand-in manager when needed, but his partner Jeanette leads the very popular Line Dancing activity each Thursday. Between them they have six grown children, five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Michelle has more than 30 years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant in Public Practice. She has specialised skills in Business Advisory, Strategic Planning, Business Structuring, Management Reporting and Business Coaching. Michelle joined the Trust as a Board Member in 2022.

As BDO Rotorua's Advisory Partner, Michelle has been extensively involved with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants at both local and national levels and was honoured with a Fellowship early in her career. She has a genuine interest in helping others, something that started from a young age with her father, in his role managing a retirement village. Of particular importance to Michelle is the value that she brings to organisations such as this Trust. She is surrounded by a group of like-minded team members who also wish to assist on a voluntary basis.

Wendy joined the Trust in 2019. Rotorua-born and Te Arawa affiliated, Wendy has a very long association with Parksyde. Her mother Roma Cook was instrumental in creating Parksyde, while a Rotorua District Councillor in the late 1990s.

Wendy and her husband Steve have three married sons and eight grandchildren and have spent the last 20 years renovating their home at the top of Fenton Street, the former Landmark Restaurant villa.

Wendy is a qualified Pharmacy Technician and has had various technician and administrative roles over the years, but now works in the family-run business, Motorsports Limited, a car dealership on Fairy Springs Road, which has been operating for 30 years.

A keen golfer and life member of the Rotorua Golf Club, Wendy has held several offices including Ladies Captain, Vice President, President and is a current Board member. Her commitment to the community spans over 20 years in terms of extensive fundraising activities both for her club and cancer charities.

John and his family have been long-time residents of Rotorua. John was educated in Rotorua before heading to Wellington. He attended Victoria University to obtain his law degree and following early training in various Wellington law firms, he returned home to take up a position at O’Sullivan Clemens where he remains as a Consultant. John has a wide family, property and commercial law practice and has been extremely involved in various Trusts and community organisations in Rotorua.

John is married to Pauline and between them, they have five children and 12 grandchildren. They have enjoyed remodelling and renovating the family home at Ohinemutu and developing their garden. At times they escape Rotorua in their classic car and restored retro caravan, enjoying other parts of the country.

Julia became a Trust member in 2022. Attending a variety of groups and activities held at Parksyde she is a regular user and is passionate about the concept and philosophy of a community centre for 55+.

Originally from Auckland she moved to Rotorua in 2009 after having lived in Australia for a number of years and looking for the perfect place to settle back in New Zealand. Julia worked at the Rotorua Arts Village for several years. Following this she worked as a relief teacher as this allowed her and her husband Philip to enjoy several overseas trips of extended duration. Since retiring at the end of 2019 from teaching, Parksyde has become her ‘home away from home’. She sees it as an active meeting place where people gather to share experiences and companionship. Being a keen gardener Julia also enjoys helping maintain the Parksyde gardens.

Robyn’s interest in Parksyde started when she was contracted to complete a Strategic Review for the Trust in 2019. Now Parksyde Manager, Robyn is passionate about creating opportunities at Parksyde for Rotorua’s 55+. With a Master’s in Education (Science, Health, and Environmental Education), a not-for-profit community engagement background, and having spent almost 10 years in local government management, Robyn welcomed the chance to return to Rotorua to use her skills for something local and meaningful. A keen Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, Robyn has been a Trustee on various Trusts and is currently on the Graeme Dingle Foundation Rotorua Board, a Trust she helped set up in Rotorua to support the development and delivery of the Graeme Dingle Programmes in her home rohe.

Workwise, more recently, she was Head of Registry at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology where she worked on business process improvement before becoming Executive Officer for Tauranga City Council, supporting the Chief Executive in terms of advice, research and trouble shooting.

Jo-Anne moved to Rotorua from New Plymouth in the mid-1980s when she married her husband Joe. She joined the Trust in 2024 following a significant time volunteering on the Parksyde Reception, as well as being a faithful user of the Café. Jo-Anne brings a wealth of governance experience and is involved in many community organisations in Rotorua, making a difference to our local community. Her involvement includes being a Trustee on Age Concern, Friends of the Museum, Toi Rotorua Arts Festival, Museum Centennial Trust, and Creative Communities. She is also a Director for Lockwood and the Rotorua Coffin Club Manager. Jo-Anne has a good understanding of Rotorua community and the not-for-profit sector having been on the Rotorua Trust for 18 Years. Jo-Anne is passionate about Parksyde and what is achieving in terms of looking after the older people in Rotorua. Jo-Anne has three children and seven grandchildren, all living in Rotorua.