If every bowling club in New Zealand had a ‘Terry Moverley’, then bowls would be in an even more fantabulous state of affairs throughout the country.

Sure.  Many bowling clubs do have a ‘Terry Moverley’.  And maybe even a better “Terry Moverley’ than the actual Terry Moverley at the lucky Bowls Birkenhead club on Auckland’s North Shore.  But they’re not easy to come by.  So it’s no surprise that Terry Moverley, the real Terry Moverley, has been named Bowls New Zealand’s Club Person of the Year in 2022.

Terry is a true club man.  He’s a bloke that doesn’t just talk the talk (and Terry isn’t short of a word or three), but walks the walk as well.  They say that if you want something done, ask a busy person.  Well, Terry’s a busy person … but you don’t need to ask him.  Invariably, you’ll find he’s already doing it.

“That can cause a bit of strife at home,” laughs Terry. “My wife Emmie is Chairperson of the club, so sometimes we don’t see things the same way!”

But they’re both determined to make Bowls Birkenhead the best.

“Our full-playing bowling club membership is around 100,” says Terry. “But including our social membership it is over the 340 mark.  The locals tend to see us as their community club in Birkenhead, rather than just a bowling club for a private membership.  They see themselves, and the club, as being part of their home in Birkenhead, not just another anonymous club in the metropolitan sprawl of Auckland.”

“As a result, we have lots of non-bowling people and non-bowling organisations using our club rooms.  Like the Calliope Athletic and Harrier Club who meet here every Wednesday evening for a run.  And the Birkenhead Volunteer Fire Brigade … many of whom pop in on a Fridy evening for a beer and a yarn.”

“U3A (University of the Third Age) uses us.  And darts have become a big thing at the club.”

“But one of the uses of the club we’re most proud of is ‘BeezKnits’ … we act as the collection point for locals, including our own ladies, who knit booties, hats, mittens, and vests for premature babies born at Middlemore Hospital.”

But Terry is always on the lookout for more.  The club facility’s there to be used and he’s keen to see it used to the full.

But all this usage Terry encourages is just the tip of the iceberg of his work for Birkenhead.

Officially, Terry is Secretary of Bowls Birkenhead … a role which he performs with seeming ease,  But when you get Terry, the secretary, you also get Terry, the super-administrator … an ‘ubermensch’ with a heck of a lot more organisational and marketing skills than simply the secretarial skills required for a bowling club.

He’s been creating and publishing the club newsletter ‘Bee Express’ since 2014.  A new issue gets emailed to hundreds of members and friends of the club every week.  He complements this regular communication with flyers he produces to publicize upcoming tournaments at the club.  And for the big tournaments, he produces and sends invitations to potential participants.

At the same time, Terry looks after the club’s website and facebook pages.  No.  ‘Looks after’ undervalues what he actually does … both the website and facebook page are always up to date with a rich assortment of content.  Terry doesn’t seem to get ‘posting fatigue’.

He’s even set up a loyalty system ‘BeeRewards’ to encourage people to use the club more.

Funnily enough, Terry doesn’t regard all this marketing stuff as his real forte.  “I like organising events,” he says. “Particularly bowls events like the elite Men’s Open here in February every year, and the Women’s Open Two-Day Pairs.”

“I also have a hand in the organisation of the Easter and end-of-season May tournaments.”

However, It’s not just bowling tournament tournaments which Terry organises.  He’s a sports nut.  So whenever there’s a big sporting occasion, and the timing’s right, he’ll organise a breakfast get-together at the club to watch it on the big screen.

The list goes on.  But not just the fun stuff.  Terry initiated the creation of the club’s  policy for the prevention of harassment, bullying and discrimination.  Along with the club’s transgender policy.  He didn’t have to fight off a lot of takers for these jobs!

And if those tasks weren’t drier than a summer in the Maniototo, he also became the club’s ‘expert’ on the current COVID regulations.

It’s difficult to imagine anything that Terry doesn’t do at Birkenhead (but there is more.  Much more).  And difficult to imagine how anyone else in the country could’ve dome much more to beat him to the award of Club Person of the Year in 2022.

Well deserved Terry.  Congratulations.