It is with great regret that the Federation Board announce that our President, Jan Pentecost, has resigned with immediate effect. Her resignation letter to the Board is reproduced below for your information.
David Marshall, Vice-President, Grey Power NZ Federation Inc
It is with great regret and guilt for not seeing my term through that I inform you that I am resigning as the president of the Grey Power NZ Federation as of today 28/03/2024.
Firstly, I am resigning now, although I had intended to nominate for another term, because I am exhausted. The thought of running another board meeting and then the AGM is overwhelming.
Jacinda Ardern said when she resigned as Prime Minister, that she did not have enough left in the tank, and that she could no longer do justice to her job. Although I would never compare myself with the former Prime Minister, I feel guilty for resigning at this time but I am weighed down with the tasks I have been doing for Grey Power and certainly feel, going forward, that I am unable to provide the leadership this organisation needs.
It has been a difficult three and a half years for me as president because of Covid, the Counties Manukau situation which called into question my reputation, conflict between board members, prejudice because of my gender plus, of course, the very heavy workload.
Secondly, but more importantly, as some of you know Tony, my husband, has grade 3 prostate cancer and although the seven month’s treatment appears to have been successful, he is now displaying memory loss which means I will not be able to attend board meetings because I need to be home to look after him e.g., ensure his safety etc. I must also be available to drive because it is unlikely that he will retain his driver’s licence.
I have to re-charge my batteries now for whatever the future holds for Tony and I.
Tony has been my absolute support for all our nearly sixty years of marriage so it is my turn to help him now and do everything we can to slow the progression of his condition.
I sincerely thank you for all the work you do for Grey Power – keep it up everyone.
Jan Pentecost