Let’s Find Out More About …
Grant Paice
What is your earliest memory?
I remember my 1st day at primary school. I was the best dressed kid there. I also learnt a valuable lesson when I tried playing with another boy’s building blocks and was told in no uncertain terms: “Mine … MINE!”
What was your first Job?
While at primary school did quite a few things including delivering papers and running a lawn mowing business. I started the latter as I was in love with a girl one year older than me and this way I got to be near her while mowing her parent’s lawns.
Alas being one year younger at that age was a big “no” for her but I did get the neighbours either side of where she lived as new lawn mowing clients.
What is one of the accomplishments in your life so far that you are proud of?
Passing my first ski instructor qualification with the NZ Ski Instructors Alliance on the third attempt. Back then there were only two levels and the courses were very tough with high pressure to perform and low pass rates.
I learnt that the secret was to stay positive, ski near the back of the group, say nothing unless asked and when told you were doing things wrong to smile and say: “Thank-you … I will work hard on that.”
The Alliance now offers three levels with a more gentle 1st stage that is much more encouraging of aspiring new instructors.
How did you come to join Rotary?
Both Deryn and Stuart had a part to play in it.
Deryn and I met at the West Coast Bar in Papanui on Friday evenings and she told me she was a Rotarian. It interested me as before then I had mostly served on quite narrow focussed committees and was becoming more interested in organisations with a wider brief.
I met Stuart on a flight from Wellington to Christchurch. Being quite a short flight I had ordered a drink a bit too late and was told their EftPOS had closed and I needed to pay cash. I only had $2 on me but luckily Stuart came to the rescue.
I decided I had better come along to a meeting to pay him back and the rest is history.
As a Rotarian, which of the activities you have been involved in did you enjoy the most and why?
President Jenny approached me when she took over and said: “We’d like you to do our weekly Club Chat.”
At first I was a bit unsure what I was getting into but thanks to great tuition from Liz I soon got the hang of it and I really enjoy helping members share and stay up to date with what we and the wider Rotary organisation are up to.
If you were able to go back in time and meet yourself when you were a teenager, what suggestion might you give yourself?
I would tell myself to never use a letter to break off a relationship.
From age 16 I went out with a lovely girl called Carol. While other friends were falling in and out of love and moving repeatedly from infatuation to despair, we had a relatively calm time of it during those formative years.
After a few years I realised we were going in different directions but I was unsure what to do as I had never broken up with anyone before. I decided to write her a lovely letter. After it was sent I never heard from her for ages.
A couple of weeks later I was walking through town one night and was tapped on the shoulder. On turning around Carol called me something I cannot repeat here and delivered a match winning left hook that dumped me on the footpath.
A lesson very well learnt … no more letters.