Who we are

:: ACHIEVEMENT HOUSE is a disability enterprise based in central Kemuriti / Cambridge, Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Our team includes people aged 16+ who want support to work, and our staff who help provide that support.

Team members choose to come to Achievement House to work, and enjoy social interaction.

On a typical day, we will work together to deliver contracts for our clients, and take great pride in doing a good job.

To ensure it is not all work and no play, we enjoy an hour’s lunch break so people can access the local retail and business community, whether it’s to do their banking or shopping or simply to enjoy their town.

Otherwise, team members will stay onsite to build and maintain friendships and to socialise with their peers.

Meet some of our people …

:: Our floor staff

Hone

‘I’ve been at Achievement House since 1997. Everyone here’s a friend. I like working with brackets and going for a walk.’

Adele

‘I used to come five days a week, then two and now I come one day a week. I like to talk and hang out with my friends.’

Janice

‘I’m doing pink straps at the moment and like it. I come here three days a week and get here in the van or with Miss Daisy.’

Gail

‘I’ve been here for 13 years. I’m really good at packing sauce bottles — and I love doing crosswords when I’m on a break.’

Matthew

‘I reckon I’m pretty good with (putting together) waterpipe brackets. And I like my Waikato Draught …’

Linden

‘What do I do here? Assembly work. It’s pretty good too.’

Tayt

‘I like working with waterpipe brackets and making friends. It’s nice when you work with a friend.’

Jenna

‘I feel a bit happy when I can be quiet and help with things like straps and bottle tops.’

Terence

‘I’ve been coming here a long time, four days a week. I’m one of those that’s been coming the longest.’

Mark

‘I have got my friend here. I come three days a week. I like the brackets and doing the nuts and bolds and all that.’

Rachel

‘I’ve done many different jobs since first coming here (in 1983). I like labelling the sauce bottles and lids.’

Brett

‘My favourite work is sorting cattle strips — we’re doing pink ones at the moment. And I’m a big fan of the Black Caps.’

Jeremy

‘I’ve been here seven years. I like it because it is fun. My favourite jobs are putting rails into boxes and the putty buckets.’

Carl

‘I walk to Achievement House every day, and I enjoy counting lamb teats into boxes and helping move boxes.’

Taane

‘Coming here makes me happy. I like it when we have people’s birthdays.’

Louis

‘It’s the first job I have had in 15 years. I really enjoy it and am happy here. I don’t have a favourite job, all the mahi is good and we get to have a variety of work to do.’

:: Our manager and supervisors

Neil

Neil Fynn has managed Achievement House since 2016, after working in the disability and health sector, and in trades, agriculture and sport-related industry. He has more than 40 years of experience with pan-disability, and has worked in general and mental health.

His motivation is to help people with an intellectual or similar disability to build and live a life they choose and enjoy. He sees Achievement House as providing a valuable option for those who choose it, and has seen first-hand the benefits for those it has helped.

Shelby

Shelby, a day programme supervisor, looks after admin and deputises for manager Neil. Before joining the team in 2021, she worked in disability support in Auckland, and has always been drawn to work that involves caring for and supporting people to help them grow and develop.

Shelby says working at Achievement House brings so much fulfilment, she gets to go home with sore cheeks from smiling all day.

Bud

Bud is a day programme supervisor who has worked in the disability support industry since the 1990s when he worked in Tokanui Hospital’s training resource unit which offered industry-type day programmes to people with an intellectual disability. Later, he moved into community-based residential support, working with people who had previously lived at the hospital.

Bud says Achievement House provides a great working environment where the disability sector and real-world commercial operations can blend together, helping people grow and develop.

Joe

Joe is a day programme supervisor who joined Achievement House in 2006, after a 25-year career in the mining industry. His late sister had a disability and lived in supported care, making Joe aware of the needs of those who he can help.

He likes the way everyone works as a team at Achievement House, and he enjoys teaching floor staff how to do new jobs, and driving the courtesy van between Hamilton and Cambridge. The daily contact with floor staff is rewarding and keeps him in his role.

Shiree

Shiree is a day programme supervisor who joined Achievement House in 2022 after a career in special needs education, early childhood education, general health nursing and residential support, where she was a team leader. She has also provided respite support for people in her home.

She says she loves seeing workshop floor staff arrive with a sense of enthusiasm, doing their best in their work and leaving each day with a sense of pride for their achievements.

Glen

Glen is a day programme supervisor and groundskeeper who has been with Achievement House since 2012. After becoming a motorcycle engineer, he moved to Australia where he met his wife, Sue.

Glen got a job driving a van for a disability day programme in Brisbane and he found he enjoyed working in a role where he could care for, and help others. He has attained his NZQA Level 2 in Health and Wellbeing. Glen’s wife is a floor staff team member, maintaining a lifestyle she enjoys.

:: Our board members

Nigel

Nigel Donne has been active in the Cambridge and Tamahere communities since moving to the area from Auckland after a career working with and leading people in industries such as manufacturing, health and education.

After serving as a young police constable, he’s been employed and consulted in the fields of human resources, health and safety, business design and restructuring and employment relations. He has been our chair since 2024. He can be contacted through email or mobile 027 4470160.

Hilary

Hilary Wilson-Hill works with a number of charities after more than 30 years working in operational, business management, accounting and health and safety roles across many industries, including international freight forwarding, marketing, food industry publications and manufacturing.

After living in a number of countries (United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates), Hilary enjoys making a contribution to her Kemureti / Cambridge community.

Devony

Devony’s longstanding commitment to supporting individuals with disabilities inspired her to join the board of Achievement House.

Her career spans education and law, having spent more than 10 years in tertiary education in teaching and management roles. She now specialises in resource management and environmental law at Harkness Henry Specialist Lawyers.

Peter

Peter Morton was a chartered accountant in public practice for 35 years in Cambridge before retiring from the firm Herbert Morton.

Peter is a past Asia Pacific chairman for WOCO (World Organization Council for Service clubs) and past president of NZ for RTNZ (a service club). Peter is a life member of the Motor Trade Association, the New Zealand Convenience Store Association and Automotive Solutions Ltd.

David

David Hall has been the chief executive of the Cambridge Resthaven Trust since 2001. Prior to this, he spent 14 years in various clinical and management roles at Waikato Hospital. This included a short period as a regional manager in the intellectual disability sector.

He has a Master of Health Management Degree from Auckland University, a Post Graduate Diploma of Management from Waikato University, and a Comprehensive Nursing Diploma.

Jeff

Jeff Small is a practising chartered accountant with more than 35 years’ experience in commerce and public practice, including 12 years managing his own practice.

He has held CFO roles in industries including building products, plastics, kitchens, distribution and private prison. Jeff works with other entities in the disability sector. He joined the board in 2024.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata! He tāngata! He tāngata!

What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people! It is the people! It is the people!

Phil Brown’s photograph of Maungatautari (‘mountain of the upright stick’) greets visitors to Achievement House.