Todd Talks By Todd Muller

It has been an enjoyable first two weeks as the National Party candidate for the Bay of Plenty electorate.

For the first day or two post the June 6 selection, I took time to celebrate with my wife and children quite an amazing process and outcome.

For all those unfamiliar with the machinations of the National Party, it has been quite a journey to get here, with many weeks of meeting the 101 delegates who are selected by party members to make the decision.

No head office appointments in this party, it's all grassroots democracy, with both myself and Tauranga City councillor Steve Morris meeting every delegate, nearly always in their homes, to outline our respective visions – and of course be questioned directly by our local party members.

It was a great experience and one I will always remember and I take the privilege seriously.

So now with the support of the local National Party confirmed, it's out hitting the streets, meeting people and listening to their perspectives and expectations.

It's been an exciting couple of weeks. I've spent most of my time walking the streets of Papamoa, where my wife Michelle I first lived when we got married, bought our first home and had two of our three children.

It's a great part of the electorate, filled with hardworking locals just out there doing the business.

I had great feedback as I handed out my introductory letter to the electorate. I was struck by three things: the number of mostly little and normally friendly dogs that greeted me with the home owners, the warmth of the welcome, and just how hard most people work.

I met a number of mothers, with happy boisterous children, but the look of fatigue was evident and despite what we men say, is really only ever understood by fellow mums. We need to always remember how hard they work.

Another highlight was attending last week's BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year function at the ASB Arena. What a great evening, where young and future leaders of the kiwifruit and avocado industries were on show.

The finalists had their technical orcharding, financial, and social skills assessed during a day of multidiscipline tests, including giving speeches on the future of attracting talent to the sector in front of 200 people.

Congratulations to Patrick Malley on taking out the title. He now heads to Wellington to compete for the national title.

As speeches of the candidates attested, the kiwifruit and avocado sectors are understandably often concerned over the future pipeline of talent t required to sustain the industry.

But if the calibre of the contestants is anything to go by, we're in good hands.

One of the key lessons for me from the evening was the power of mentors.

These always understated and often under-acknowledged locals are so important to nurturing talent.

In each of the young leader's cases, there were one or two experienced heads that had set them on their way with a kind word, experienced insight and obvious passion for the primary sector.

There were many mentors in the audience who came along to support the young fruit growers. Thanks for your commitment to supporting tomorrow's leaders.