CONGRATULATIONS, MIKE!

Local resident and olive grower Mike Cooper was the guest of honour at a special luncheon held at the Medici Café last month. Mike is a long-time member of Wairarapa U3A; and current chairman Jan Veitch was delighted to present him with U3A’s first ever ‘Honorary Life Membership’.
When Mike retired from an academic career at Otago University (amongst other things) he came to Martinborough and although very busy with his new venture, soon became involved with the U3A Current Affairs and Lunch Groups when they started up.
His first appearance, though [before that], was as guest speaker on ‘The Economics of the Health System’. He is still remembered for convincing everyone that the common adage ‘economists go into the field because they find accountancy too exciting’ is clearly untrue!

Partly also thanks to Mike’s contribution towards U3A’s development locally, it is now well-established and has now over 100 members, who meet generally on a monthly basis in groups to suit their interests.
As well as Lunch and Current Affairs, there are Book and Cinema Groups, Language Study, Creative Writing, Music, Poetry and Philosophy, to name a few. The common themes are the pursuit of interests, keeping that grey matter honed, and enjoying excellent company. Members can attend as many groups as they want.
Although Mike has now stepped back from his leadership roles, his past contribution and occasional presence are still enormously valued. Mike said he was ‘very much honoured’ to receive his Certificate, and followed by entertaining his fellows with a delightful ‘thankyou’ speech!
For more information about U3A, check out the website: u3awairarapa.weebly.com.