\u201cHis loss will be felt deeply by all who knew and loved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family asked for privacy, saying details of Bickle\u2019s funeral would be shared in due course.<\/p>\n
Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum said in a statement that the council\u2019s thoughts and aroha were with Bickle\u2019s wife, family, friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is devastating news for Nigel\u2019s wh\u0101nau and for the many people who knew and cared about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schollum described Bickle as a charismatic, visionary leader whose enormous energy was surpassed only by his even bigger heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was incredibly generous with his time, his support and his belief in people. He cared deeply about our staff, our community and Heretaunga Hastings, and that was clear in everything he did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Schollum said Bickle was much more than the council\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a respected colleague and friend, and a very special part of our council wh\u0101nau.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigel guided council through some of the most challenging times our community has faced. Through them all, he was always looking for the silver lining and the opportunity to build something better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schollum said Bickle had a deep commitment to public service and to improving people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe understood that local government is not only about policies, projects and infrastructure. It is about people, relationships and the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
She acknowledged his dedication to service, and love for and commitment to M\u0101ori, Samoan and wider Pasifika communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be time to reflect more fully on his contribution and the legacy he leaves. Today, we are grieving the loss of a very special person.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis warmth, humour, generosity and extraordinary energy will be deeply missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bickle joined the council as its chief executive in February 2019. Then-mayor Sandra Hazlehurst described his appointment as \u201cincredibly exciting\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said at the time, the council had a clear vision of improving the wellbeing of its community while delivering efficient and effective local government services; and encouraging business growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sought a chief executive who understands our vision, understands our challenges, and who can implement the change needed for us to achieve our goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Bickle is a passionate, driven and experienced leader who values and understands the importance of relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hastings District Council is mourning the loss of its “charismatic” and “visionary” chief executive To\u2019osavili Nigel Bickle. Photo \/ Hastings District Council<\/p>\n
According to Hazlehurst, Bickle had a love of Hastings and Hawke\u2019s Bay despite home originally being Porirua, where he grew up.<\/p>\n
During his 2019 appointment, Bickle had described Hawke\u2019s Bay as one of New Zealand\u2019s best regions.<\/p>\n
Before joining the council, Bickle had been head of the Government\u2019s Provincial Development Unit, which had managed the Provincial Growth Fund.<\/p>\n
The role was one of many Bickle had held in his nearly 20-year career as a central government senior official. Previous roles included acting chief executive of the Department of Labour, acting chief executive of the Department of Building and Housing, and deputy chief executive of Immigration New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHis loss will be felt deeply by all who knew and loved him.\u201d The family asked for privacy,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[272933,3937,1259,5205,634,7126,7557,3938,2109,9058,5194,101,15121,111,43,139,45146,69,24994,23333,272932,9091],"class_list":["post-555677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-bickle","tag-chief","tag-community","tag-council","tag-death","tag-dies","tag-district","tag-executive","tag-family","tag-figure","tag-hastings","tag-left","tag-mourning","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nigel","tag-nz","tag-sudden","tag-suddenly","tag-toosavili","tag-treasured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}