Honouring a colleague's immense contribution.
When a beloved colleague passed away, his co-workers knew they wanted to honour the huge contribution he had made both to the company and the wider community.
The longest serving partner at accounting firm Staples Rodway, John Wadams has been credited as being fundamental to the company’s success.
He was also a mentor to many of the staff, who considered him family.
Sadly, John passed away in June last year at the age of 76. Wanting to honour the significant contribution that John had made to the company and the wider community, his colleagues decided to set up a fund in his memory.
The John Wadams Memorial Fund has been established to help people who are in need of financial assistance to further their education, or obtain tertiary qualifications, in the field of accounting.
Kevin Pitfield fondly remembers his former colleague as someone with great focus and insight.
"His fall-back position may have been 'If you can’t blind them with science – baffle them with bullsh!t'- but there was no need for him to rely on any type of fall-back in the main, as his ability was enough to get him through what to many would have been daunting situations."
"Staples Rodway’s motivation to establish a memorial fund in John's honour was in recognition of the immense contribution that he (and our other founding partners) made to the firm that Staples Rodway is today - and in the spirit of giving back to the communities in which we operate; and in which we reside."
"As a 100% NZ owned and operated business, Staples Rodway has always had a key focus on helping family-owned businesses and we are very proud with the "spread" of knowledge and expertise that we have created within our communities and further afield."
Kevin adds, "Many members of the Staples Rodway team have themselves progressed from humble beginnings, through the various stages of their careers with us, to become financial executives with successful New Zealand and overseas businesses."
"Our hope is that the Fund will provide help to people who may be in similar or worse situations; who require some level of external financial assistance in order to fulfil their aspirations."
If you would like to know more about setting up a memorial fund under Auckland Foundation, please get in touch.
