Local chiropractor Lloyd Buscomb has replaced Rosemary Hill as chairman of the Cambridge Health and Community Trust.
Dr Lloyd Buscomb has decided that a steady hand on the wheel is the best way to go after picking up the Cambridge Health and Community Trust (CHCT) reins last month.
The Cambridge chiropractor was elected CHCT chairman at the Trust’s annual meeting on June 20, following Rosemary Hill’s departure after more than two decades at the wheel.
“I think Rosemary was there for 25 years. I’ve told them not to expect me to stay there for 25 years!” he laughed. “But I have to say she will be a hard act to follow. Rosemary took this from a fledgling organisation with no money and no direction, and built it into a thriving business and an essential part of the Cambridge community.
“Rosemary’s a very self-deprecating person, but she has done such a tremendous job that there is very little I need to do right now other than continue on the same path. I see it as a period of consolidation. Our buildings are old, which means a lot of maintenance is required. We’d like more capacity, and it would be good to see more community groups getting involved.”
He said the organisation had been “very fortunate with the charities and grants that have allowed us to stay afloat” and said there would be more opportunities down the line.
June was a month in which Lloyd found validation across a couple of fronts. Not only was he elected CHCT chairman after 10 years as a trustee, but he was also named New Zealand Chiropractor of the Year by the NZ Chiropractors Association (NZCA), recognising his “tireless devotion and long-standing service to the NZCA and the chiropractic profession”.
Lloyd served on the chiropractic registration board for seven years and is the NZCA’s current vice-president.
After gaining his degree in 1983 from RMIT University in Melbourne, he moved to Napier, bought a small practice and met his wife Cheryl. Later on, the Buscombs relocated to Cambridge, where they started the Waikato Chiropractic Clinic from scratch in 1987.
The couple was involved in Jaycees in both Napier and Cambridge, and have taken on additional community roles over the years. Lloyd has been a past president of both Cambridge Toastmasters and the Athletics Club, was involved with the Cambridge Social Services Committee, was on the executive committee of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce in its foundation years, and has enjoyed a long involvement with Gaslight Repertory Society.
Those links, and his 10 years as a Cambridge Health and Community Centre Trustee have brought much satisfaction.
He described the charitable organisation as a “very successful model … one that benefits from a great team effort involving equally civically-minded people and assisted by our recently appointed manager, Deborah Knowles.
“I always maintain that you get far more out of being involved in community organisations than you give in terms of time and service,” he said. “What you learn though connections with civic life is invaluable.”
