Jumped right in

Construction coordinator Trish Parsons had been with Quality Roading and Services for two days when she was catapulted into the company’s flood response mahi of June 2024.

A veteran of civil contracting and driven to help, Trish embraced her role in the team’s flood response. “It was heartbreaking work sometimes, but it was great to be involved. Your heart just went out to affected people.”

“We spent those days walking the streets and talking to people as we arranged to pick up rubbish. Alongside supplying the machinery and contractors to help, we just listened.”

Trish, Ngāti Porou, was with Downer in Gisborne during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, so she’s seen her fair share of families affected by sodden and broken infrastructure. “In both events, people had lost their livelihoods but somehow through it all they remain resilient.”

Trish says the situation for one kuia in Wairoa still touches her heart. While standing in her flooded home, the elderly wahine admitted she didn’t know where to start. “She’d lived there since she was a girl and I just had to assure her we were here to help and would do whatever we could to tidy up.”

At Downer, Trish was quality performance manager. She was also the face of Girls with Hi-Vis: a one-off successful hands-on event inspiring young women to join civil construction. The Gisborne mother of two has also worked with Brian Perry Civil and pursued consultancy work.

Trish has brought skills learned in her previous jobs to her role in QRS’s capital division. She manages concrete dispatch, invoicing, client reporting and financial processing.

19 November 2024

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