A day in the life of Lyndon Bray
Lyndon Bray is used to being the man in the middle after a long career as an international rugby referee but he is now the man at the top, having taken up the role as CEO of the Tasman Rugby Union. Lyndon and his husband are settling into life in Nelson but he’s already found a couple of local gems, as he tells Nelson Magazine.
6am My husband Maico Camilo, and I walk our Pomeranian dog, Harry on the Nelson waterfront (OK, it is still a virtual walk at the moment, as we are desperately waiting for Harry to arrive from South Africa and get out of quarantine).
7.15am Coffee and cheese scone to start the day from The Little Dove Café (Andrew is right when he says he has the best cheese scones).
7.30am Fuelled with the coffee and scone, it is time to check my emails and have my early morning chat with Les Edwards, our commercial guru. Les and I always take time to work out the critical things I need to know, being new to the seat.
8.30am Today I’m off to Richmond to meet and greet with the Nelson Building Society CEO and GM. NBS is a critical partner and sponsor of Tasman Rugby and we discuss the symmetry between our two organisations.
10am I meet with the Tasman Rugby Maori board chairman, Barney Thomas. This is a very important meeting for me, as I work through how I ensure I collaborate with the Maori board and do everything I can to uphold the cultural purpose, vision and emblems of our Tasman Maori heritage.
11am A quick one on one with one of our staff (I always try to ensure I hold at least one ‘one on one’ each day, so that I am consistently connecting with each person over each fortnigh. Simple mantra for me is that ‘relationships is all there is’ (He tangata, he tangata, he tangata)
11.30am A quick drive out to Stoke and a meeting with Scott and Janelle from The Turf Hotel to map out the key events that Tasman Rugby will embrace at the Turf Hotel, during the Mako season.
12.15pm I have lunch with Maico at Morrisons and we discuss his strategic approach as an international artist coming into the region. He has built a successful profile selling his artwork in South Africa, Europe and Australia over the last couple of years. Please visit maicocamilo.com to connect with his work. Lunch is the Nashville Hot Chicken, with the bang spice! Love it...
1.15pm Back to the office for a really stimulating meeting with the high performance coaches, working through our final Contracting Model for the Mako 2021 season, as well as planning for the future.
2pm Catch up with our chair of the Tasman Rugby Board and discuss all things rugby (NZR, Tasman, community and clubs).
3pm I spend two hours finalising a document that the staff of Tasman Rugby worked on for our aligned purpose and what we call our ‘Game Changers.’ We focus on what we can make happen over the next six months, that will help us create some game changing outcomes for rugby in Tasman. Exciting new purpose ‘inspiring and connecting our community, by nurturing a life-long love of the game’.
5pm Time for a beer with friends and then dinner at the Indian Café on Collingwood St, with Carol and Brian from Havelock. This couple do some fantastic work for the Havelock Lions and it is truly a pleasure to meet them and look to help in any way we can with their fundraising initiatives.
8.30pm Time in front of the television, watching ‘The Fall’ on TV on Demand. Great story! Zoning out to a television series is a great way for me to move the work from my brain (with a very good Rimu Grove Chardonnay).
Written for Nelson Magazine