Darol is volunteer of the month

Volunteer of the Month: Darol Pointon, former WHS staff member.
PHOTO / Paul Brooks

Darol Pointon started volunteering in 1959.

“I had a boss who was in Rotary and in Braille Week, as they called it, they used to canvas every house in Wanganui. He said to me, ‘I’m not available that day. Here’s your city area; go to it.’ It continued with Corso, Red Cross and never really stopped,” says Darol.

Through his wife, Lorraine, Darol got involved with IHC, initially working the spinning jenny at a gala day. The late Tom Armstrong urged Darol to attend a committee meeting, on which there was a vacancy.

“Tom didn’t tell me it was the executive committee, and after a few months he said, ‘I want to elevate you’. The elevation was leadership of the Staff and Finance Committee.

“I did that for about 15 years.” While Darol was running the engineers’ office for the Hospital Board, he was approached by Harold Wynn, the chief executive.

“There’s a chap coming down from Auckland in a Heart Foundation bus. Talk to him. Whatever it takes, you can do it in my time,” he said to Darol. They wanted someone to set up the regional committee of the Heart Foundation. Darol became secretary-treasurer.

“I set everything up and stayed there for about 15 years.” Derek Nimmo, Alison Holst and Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes were all brought to Wanganui during that time. Sir Brian donated his Rolex watch to be raffled off.

Darol has also been involved with Freemasons’ charities, including a programme called Live Life Lighter, encompassing five health organisations.

“I set it up and ran it for a week. We didn’t make a lot of money but we made a lot of friends for Freemasonry.”

Darol worked on quite a few Relays for Life for the Cancer Society.

His “partner in crime” has always been his wife, Lorraine.

“She’s my soul mate, and if we’re going to do something, we do it together. She supports me and I support her.

“We sat in Trafalgar Square three years in a row selling Christmas hams and raffle tickets for Kidney Kids and Children with Cancer at Starship.” He has been a member of Wanganui Harriers for 63 years, 48 years with Freemasons, and he joined Oddfellows in 1959.

“If you’re going to belong to something you hang in there: Everything is for the long term.”

Sandra Rickey, manager of Volunteer Whanganui, presented Darol with a certificate, a volunteer pin and a $40 voucher from Mud Ducks cafe.

By Paul Brooks
Midweek 29/5/19