Margaret was born and raised in Wales, UK, where she was lucky enough to have held several roles starting with becoming a registered child minder, a role she held for nine years. She then retrained as a Civil Engineer gaining her HNC Civil Engineering qualification.

She also trained as a photographer and learned to stage homes for sale as well as undertaking a Web Design course. She worked with the local Council and the Welsh Assembly Government and put in place systems that are still in use today.

Margaret and David moved to New Zealand in 2006 where she continued to work not only with people but systems. During her first role at a private school in Christchurch, Margaret set up systems for the whole school within the co-curricular arena and worked on several large events before moving into early Childhood Education, setting up systems for distance learning. Margaret then moved into adult education and became the operational manager of a language school being responsible for all things student, from toilet rolls to timetabling and funding to immigration visas.

Taking a break from corporate life, Margaret set up a craft stall making and selling items at the local markets and ran a small cooking school teaching gluten free cookery along side other fare.

David and Margaret spent a year travelling whilst housesitting and caring for homes and pets whilst enjoying what other cultures had to offer. They spent time in Tasmania looking after a boutique Lodge and here their dream of working together became a reality. As Managers of Doubtless Bay Villas where she was able to use her skills to uplift the quality of the Villas and gained a 5 star rating from multiple OTAs.

Margaret enjoys her floral art design, her involvement in Tourism in Doubtless Bay and is an avid reader and loves nothing better than cooking for family and friends.

In more recent time they have renovated their home in Northland, where Margaret put her design knowledge to good use and worked on various short contracts. They are now looking to widen their contacts and continue to live and work the dream in Northland.

Skills

• Organisational skills

• Website design

• Diary organisation

• Communication and interpersonal skills

• Budget creation

• Flexible team player

• Advanced level Word, Excel and Powerpoint

Key achievements

• Setup administration systems in UK Local Government which are still in use today

• Worked with Youth Trainee Wales to provide on-job training and upskilling for under-privileged young people

• Received Recognition of Excellence Award from Hotelscombined.com representing the top 3% excellence in Customer Service of accommodation providers worldwide

• Successfully created websites for multiple local businesses increasing their web presence (Example: http://www.butlerpoint.co.nz/ )