Donna Cross is the ‘engine’ behind Mt Eden Bowls.

She’s also the club manager … and the venue organiser … and the chef and function overseer … and the bar manager … and even the cleaner. Yes. You read that right. Mt Eden Bowls doesn’t pay an external cleaner to clean the clubrooms … or pay any member to do that task for that matter. Donna does it. And voluntarily!

It’s not that Mt Eden Bowls stubbornly believes that members should be voluntary, and no one should get paid, Or that the club is so parsimonious with its funds, that it refuses to pay someone to do a job which very few others would take on.

It’s just that Donna has always been willing and able to do seemingly anything and everything at the club … and simply fills in the gaps where other members mightn’t put themselves forward.

She’s what very club would love to have. And what could be a better recommendation for Bowls New Zealand Club Person of the year (North Island) in 2024.

“She’s bloody amazing,” says General Manager of Bowls Auckland, Dean Bartlett. “It’s been a lot through her efforts that the club’s now got a turnover of around $300,000 per year.”

“That’s not because the club members are particularly ‘social’. They are. But Donna is pulling in revenue at the club as a conference facility, a private function area, a Christmas party hire … and all the people coming in need feeding and watering.”

It’s all giving Mt Eden Bowls the freedom to be a club .. rather than wretching about always trying to find money and members. In other words the space to thrive .. rather than just survive.

Donna can take a lot of credit for that.

“She ties the place together,” says Dean. “She’s the person members know they can count on … and know that while Donna is around, albeit not always in a formal ‘bowls’ role, the club will be in good hands.”

It’s a growing confidence which revealed itself at the Centre Championships last season. “The Mt Eden Bowls team of Chris Lowe and Jordan King won the Centre and Champ of Champs Pairs this last year,” says Dean. “We believe it was the first Centre title for the club in 50 years. There’s a lot of other fancied clubs in Auckland, so it’s great to see.”

In fact so good has success been for the club, that they are now in the position to contemplate paying a club manager to look after the whole shebang. That’s of course if Donna ever wants to stand down from all her many and varying ‘duties’.

That may be more difficult than the club imagines.

Sure, it will be relatively easy for Donna to hand over the reins. But Donna’s natural gregariousness and popularity is another thing. It’s something which the club has got very, very used to. It would be like a pub with no beer.

The secret plan is to bring in Donna’s daughter, Lauren. She may well be able to recreate the fabulous back-of-house work that her mum does at the club .. perhaps while Donna enjoys more sojourns away cruising.

But it will be difficult to replace ‘front-of-house’ Donna … and to replace the difference she has made at Mt Eden Bowls.

Congratulations, Donna, on being Bowls New Zealand Club Person of the Year (North Island) in 2024.