Tony Brown with his own wine produced under the Pinky and Perky label. PHOTO: Wanaka AppDIANA COCKSSay hello to Tony Brown - no, not that Tony Brown - Wanaka’s Tony Brown. He’s occasionally been mistaken for the well-known rugby-player-turned coach - not that they look alike, it’s just the name."He’s about the same age as my son,” Wanaka’s Tony Brown said. "I get introduced and people think they’re going to see "the” Tony Brown and they end up with me.”Wanaka’s Tony Brown is one of those guys with a recognisable name who has worked long and hard behind the scenes to help the Wanaka community grow.Now at 65 years of age, and with a health scare behind him, he’s chosen to retire from his position as director of sales and marketing for Willowridge Development Ltd.Tony has been involved in sales of 15 new subdivisions in Wanaka over the past 17 years and for him it’s all about relationships. He said he’s involved with sales of sections from the concept stage right through to settlement date."Because we sell our own product [it’s not sold by real estate companies] we have the knowledge and are able to build a relationship with a buyer from day one.”And in the case of subdivisions like Timsfield and Luggate, many of those purchasing sections were first home buyers. "There are a lot of first home buyers who need their hands held through that process because they’ve never done it before and it’s quite scary for them,” he said.Tony also derives enormous pride from the transformational process of developing a subdivision. "When I drive through a subdivision I think ‘gosh when we started here there was absolutely nothing’ and now it’s just transformed.”Tony and his wife Pam moved to Wanaka in 2001 and he worked for Bob Robertson, of Infinity Investment Group, for seven years before joining Allan Dippie at Willowridge Developments for the next nine years."I’m very fortunate in that I’ve had one of the best jobs in Wanaka and I’ve worked for probably two of the most interesting, clever and respected guys.”"Wanaka’s been very lucky with the developers they’ve had. With Bob Robertson and Allan Dippie they both cared passionately for the town; they weren’t just in it for the dollar.”Asked about his favourite subdivisions, he decides Far Horizon and Three Parks are his two top choices. "Far Horizon was one of the best developments Infinity did. A very, very smart subdivision for its time.”"But the most exciting is Three Parks. Allan has been working on Three Parks for 13 years now and with the Rec Centre, the new Aquatic Centre, the school, Mitre 10, the supermarket and another large retailer as anchor tenants they will really make it a destination,” Tony said. An early childhood centre and tertiary educational campus have also been identified for Three Parks as well as residential housing. Tony said he’s always enjoyed the variety of processes for selling and marketing property, ranging from silent auctions and ballots to online auctions and tenders. He recalls the online auctions for Infinity’s Pegasus Bay development, north of Christchurch, where in an online auction the team sold 400+ sections in one day. "It was very systemised; everyone knew what they were doing, when to do it; how to do it. We had good fun; those were good days.”In some ways it seems a pity to be stepping down at such an exhilarating time. "It’s an exciting time for the company and it will be great for someone who can enjoy the ride for the next 15-20 years.” Tony and Pam Brown. PHOTO: SuppliedHis 30 years in sales and marketing of real estate did leave him some time for other pursuits, however. Not long after he and Pam arrived in Wanaka they joined the Rotary Club of Wanaka. Pam was the first to join. "She used to head off to Rotary and my brother and I would go out for a meal but after a while we thought ‘this is crazy’ so we joined her. It’s been a great way to meet people.”Now with 70+ members, Rotary has played a pivotal role in many community projects, including the establishment of Rotary Park at Glendhu, the design and construction of the Wanaka town signs - "People are taking photos in front of them all the time” - and the erection of the children’s playground on the lake’s foreshore near Stoney Creek."I found that playground on trade-me and we purchased it and relocated it to the waterfront near the Stoney Creek car park,” he said. "It’s nice to see it so well used.”Tony has been president of the Rotary Club of Wanaka, Assistant District Governor for Rotary and the recipient of a Paul Harris Fellow for an outstanding contribution to the community - "quite an honour to receive that”, he said. Achieving community projects through Rotary has "given me a great deal of satisfaction.”Tony plans to continue with Rotary during his retirement. He said he would like to see Rotary expand into humanitarian projects in the South Pacific. "Things are tough over there,” he said. "Maybe we could get a group of us and head over there.”As retirement beckons he’s also hoping to spend more time playing golf, picking up the tennis racket again, and going exploring with Pam in his new Jayco Silverline caravan.He’s also looking forward to producing more wine from his vineyard on Aubrey Road. Four couples started with baby steps in the wine industry eight or nine years ago and now bottle their own. They do almost everything from pruning to harvest and last year created a ‘Pinky Rose’ and a ‘Perky Pinot’. "We’ve grown a bit of everything and we’re experimenting in a white pinot this year,” Tony said. "I get about 12 boxes of wine a year.”Then, of course, there’s his barrel of whisky gently aging at the Cardrona Distillery, with plenty of time yet to be enjoyed in retirement.

Lee BallSUE WARDSIt's the number one fear (up there with death and spiders) - glossophobia, the fear of public speaking - and Wanaka's Lee Ball not only knows how to beat it, she also believes standing up and telling your story has the power to change your life.Lee has plenty of stories of her own. A Christchurch girl with an arts degree, who had six children before she was 33 - she's not short of material. But as a teen, Lee was afraid of public speaking. "At some point we shut down and start being self conscious. I couldn't even speak up in groups.”In the 1980s, with three young children, Lee somehow found the time and energy to study massage therapy, join a gym, and train as an aerobics instructor ("g-string leotard, the works”). She saw Toastmasters as a way to help her with her public persona (and provide a weekly reprieve from her busy household).Lee attended Toastmasters regularly for four years, overcoming her fear and excelling in competitions, before she and two others set up their own business, Dynamic Communication, training mainly corporate clients in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.After a few years, Lee realised what she loved about the work was coaching people on their limiting beliefs about themselves. That led her to studying a life coaching diploma, which is where she met long time Wanaka/Hawea resident Tanette Hickey. The course required participants to "do their own stuff” about their lives, Lee said, which played a large part in her leaving Christchurch – and her marriage – soon after. Visiting Tanette in Hawea, Lee woke up one morning and thought: "I need to live here”.Having dreamed of mountains and snow, and with a yearning to try mountain-biking, Lake Hawea was Lee's "healing place”. She and Tanette set up Shine Transformational Retreats, and they still run the occasional retreat, when their own interests and growth coincide.But finding work in Wanaka is a challenge many can relate to. After dabbling briefly in real estate, Lee noticed a job advertisement for massage therapists at Oakridge and decided to apply. She's built her own massage therapy business over the past eight years, and also runs courses and private coaching on public speaking through Lee Ball Communications.She has worked with Mount Aspiring College, and run private youth coaching and community courses with people aged from their early 20s to late 60s. "Some people come because they have a work presentation, some because they've had a fear all their lives and are sick of it. Everybody has a different reason.”Lee describes her courses as "challenging and transforming”, and says her teaching has evolved over the years."I'm spending much more time on people's stories. You need personal experiences for speeches to come alive, and I've got into more inspirational speaking,” she said. "It's speaking from your heart rather than speaking to a formula or checklist.”Lee said crafting a really good story, which will grab people's attention, needs drama and suspense. "The story needs to take the audience on a journey, through the words, your eyes, your pace. You want the listener to feel like they're right there in the story.”That's where Smashing Stories comes in. Lee's son Luke has been organising 'true stories told live' sessions in Santiago, where he was based until recently and, now Luke’s back in New Zealand, the two decided to organise one in Wanaka. The sessions are inspired by an organisation called The Moth, which has a mission to promote the art and craft of storytelling and celebrate the diversity and commonality of human experience.These local stories are an antidote to the manufactured stories which surround us in advertising and the media, Lee believes. "We want to feel connected. I think there's a real, big disconnect right now. But when we share these stories we see each other and it just makes us connected.”She laughed so much at the first Smashing Stories session, "it was such a relief”."It's like storytelling around a fire. The barriers come down and we can allow ourselves to be who we are, without the props.”People come along and share a 5-6 minute story based on a theme. Lee advises people who plan to speak to practice and keep their story to the time frame. "I'm trying to create something that unites people, and you can come away feeling uplifted.” She and Luke plan to hold the sessions around New Zealand, with Wellington next."Sometimes people think ‘I don't have a good story', but you can create a good story about anything – you can create a good story about going to New World,” she says. "I love seeing people reveal their moments in life when they've learnt something. When people share their stories it actually heals them. It's therapeutic, powerful for the audience, and sometimes just entertaining.”This is more than her life's work; Lee believes "in the power of storytelling to change people's lives”.The next Smashing Stories session will be held at Gin & Raspberry on Tuesday June 12, 7-9pm. The theme is 'It was time' – decisive moments, personal resolutions, being pushed to the edge. Lee's next 'Speak with Confidence' weekend workshop starts on Friday June 17. Click MORE below for more information.PHOTO: Supplied

Annabel LangbeinFood writer Annabel Langbein has been made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit (ONZM) for her services as a food writer in the Queen’s Birthday 2018 Honours List.Annabel has a holiday home in Dublin Bay where she spends as much time as she can. "I just love it down here,” she told the Wanaka App last year.Annabel has self-published 25 cookbooks and starred in three seasons of the internationally successful cooking programme ‘Annabel Langbein: The Free Range Cook’, which has screened in 94 countries.After an early career as a food columnist, Annabel was food writer for Cuisine for 11 years and later food editor for Grace magazine. In 1988 she self-published her first book of recipes, ‘Annabel Langbein’s Cookbook’, and has since risen to become one of New Zealand’s highest selling authors of all time. Her 1997 book ‘The best of Annabel Langbein’ has sold more than half a million copies internationally and her books have topped NZ best seller lists.Overall, she has sold more than two million books through her self publishing imprint, Annabel Langbein Media. In 1991 she established the Culinary Institute of New Zealand, a specialist food marketing consultancy through which she has undertaken marketing and media campaigns for food manufacturers, retailers, and exporters.Annabel has promoted New Zealand food overseas as an ambassador for Trade NZ. She was a director of Kapiti Cheeses for seven years, and is a member of the Sustainability Council of NZ.  Annabel is a firm believer in enjoying home-grown, home-cooked food with friends and family."It connects us, even if only in a small way, to the rhythms of nature. Wandering around my garden at the end of a busy day to find something to serve for our evening meal is incredibly satisfying. So, too, is the daily ritual of setting the table, lighting some candles and sitting down together to enjoy simple, freshly cooked food.” Anyone familiar with her television series will have seen Annabel’s Dublin Bay garden on the show.Although she has spent 20 plus years working professionally in a kitchen, Annabel is very much a self-taught cook. She learned a lot from her mother Anne, a home science university graduate, and her father Fred, who took great pride in his large vegetable garden."I never formally learned to cook (aside from a couple of residential courses at the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York), choosing instead to study horticulture at Lincoln University in New Zealand. Understanding how plants grow is incredibly useful when it comes to cooking.”Annabel’s honour comes in a list which makes the Topp twins Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and former Prime Minister Bill English a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.The New Zealand Royal Honours system provides a way for New Zealand to thank and congratulate people who have served their communities and to recognise people's achievements.PHOTO: tvnz.co.nz