Karen Smith 

Congratulations to our newest Life Member - Karen Smith.

Karen has been awarded this prestigious honour as a thank you for the countless hours of hard work she put into many aspects of the club over several decades. 

Karen's involvement with the club started in 1991 when her son Daniel took up running as a teenager, followed by her older son Glenn a year later and husband Stu. Over the years Karen was a race recorder, athlete, committee member and secretary, along with multiple other jobs within the club. 

One of Karen's largest projects was spearheading the team who secured the All Weather Athletics Track at Tauranga Domain. From the initial meetings about the project, being on the Tauranga City Council Working Party and submitting presentations, along with liasing with the local children's clubs and other interested parties, Karen was an integral team member. Countless hours of fundraising were also necessary, as was the formation of the Millenium Track Trust.

Karen was instrumental in bringing children's events into both the Tauranga Twilight Athletics Meeting as well as the Tauranga Open Cross Country and her hard work has carried through with these successful events to this day.