To view events in a different month, click in the “Events in” box and select the month to view.
Annual General Meeting 2026
25th August @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Potatoes New Zealand is delighted to partner with the Horticulture Canterbury Growers Association to hold our respective Annual General Meetings (AGM) on Tuesday 25 August at the Ashburton Events Centre.
All growers are encouraged to attend to network with growers, board members and Potatoes New Zealand staff as well as have your say.
After the AGMs there will be a guest speaker and delicious dinner.
Draft Programme – Tuesday 25 August
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 5pm | Horticulture Canterbury Growers Association AGM | Ashburton Events Centre 211A Wills Street |
| 5.30pm | Potatoes New Zealand AGM | Ashburton Events Centre 211A Wills Street |
| 6.30pm | Guest Speaker: Melissa Moon | Ashburton Events Centre 211A Wills Street |
| 7.30pm | Dinner | Ashburton Events Centre 211A Wills Street |
Announcing Guest Speaker: Two time World Mountain Running champion Melissa Moon
A world champion mountain runner, humanitarian and Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Melissa Moon MNZM has turned extraordinary endurance feats into powerful lessons on resilience, service and the human spirit.
Melissa is best known as a long-distance and mountain running star, having won two World Mountain Running Championships, 21 New Zealand athletic titles and becoming a two-time winner of the iconic race up New York’s Empire State Building, conquering 86 floors and 1,576 stairs in an astonishing 12 minutes and 39 seconds. She went on to win the Vertical World Circuit, a global series of races up many of the world’s tallest buildings, cementing her reputation as one of the world’s leading stair and mountain running athletes.
In recognition of her contribution to sport and the community, Melissa was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2021 for services to athletics and charitable causes. This honour reflects not only her achievements on the track and in the mountains, but her commitment to using those achievements to make a difference in people’s lives.
Melissa’s running journey has always been intertwined with a deep sense of purpose. In 2007 she joined the Blue Planet Run, a 95-day relay around the world designed to raise awareness of the global lack of safe drinking water. As part of the team, she covered approximately 25,000 kilometres across 16 countries, wearing through five pairs of shoes as she ran through extremes ranging from 45-degree heat in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to battling swarms of horse flies in Siberia. The experience pushed her to physical and emotional limits and gave her profound insight into burnout, recovery and what it truly means to endure.
Her outstanding performances and character have been recognised widely. Melissa has been named New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year, Athletics New Zealand Athlete of the Year, and New Zealand Universities Sportsperson of the Year, and has been inducted into the Wellington Sports Legends Hall of Fame. In 2008 she was honoured globally with the JCI Outstanding Young Person of the World award, recognising both her sporting achievements and her community service.
Blending elite sport, endurance, motivational insight, inspiring stories, resilience, charity and philanthropy, and a deep focus on wellbeing and community, Melissa Moon’s story is a compelling reminder that true success is measured not just by medals and titles, but by the lives we touch along the way.