When Peter Veenstra OAM started as secretary of Central West Rugby Union 31 years ago there was only one competition in the region, all correspondence was by mail and there were no mobile phones.
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When he steps down from his position of chief executive officer in November this year he will be able to reflect on the significant changes he has witnessed in his time, many of which he has played a key role in.
On Friday morning, Veenstra officially announced his intention to retire from the position, which will come into effect at the CWRU annual general meeting on November 12.
The 74-year-old said he is ready to do so after an extended period as CEO.
“The reason, personally, is this is the 31st year,” Veenstra said of his decision to retire.
“I think I’ve given pretty good service over that period of time. Thirty-one years is a long time and I look back at when I started and all communication was by mail, we didn’t have mobile telephones and it’s been a huge change.”
One of the first changes he made was to move all communication to fax. It has since changed again to email, which Veenstra said has made things easier still.
He singles out organising the Spingboks to play in Orange in 1993 as “one of the matches that stand out above all the others”. He has also loved the camaraderie of the clubs, big and small.
One of the his biggest challenges, setting up the CWRU judiciary to work well and is now credited as being the best judiciary outside the Sydney competition, is also one of his proudest achievements.
He has been invaluable for us for a long period.
- Frank Newman, Central West Rugby Union president
CWRU president, Frank Newman, had nothing but praise for the outgoing CEO.
“He has been invaluable for us for a long period. His knowledge and expertise and contacts have served the Central West very well for a long time,” Newman said.
“It will be very difficult to replace him and I think we’ve all got to change our expectations a little bit too.”
The CWRU will start looking for a replacement soon with the intention of having time for Veenstra to train his replacement.
This means Veenstra still has work to do before he can enjoy a more relaxing lifestyle.
Obviously there is the remainder of the Blowes Clothing Cup and CrainCorp Cup seasons.
“The last game that I’ll be attending in the Central West will be the Country Eagles’ game in Orange on the 28th of October, which is just a couple of weeks before the Central West AGM,” he said.
After that he plans to catch up on a lot of reading and do some travelling with his wife, Lida.
“I’ve got to give Lida a lot of credit,” Veenstra smiled.
“You don’t do these things for this long without having significant support from your partner and she’s just been wonderful over the 31 years I’ve been in the job.”
Veenstra said he would miss the people involved in regional rugby union. He wouldn’t reveal if he would commit allegiance to a specific club once in retirement, or which club that might be.