Bronwyn is manager of Silver Fern Farms’ Finegand plant, just out of Balclutha, where she is responsible for a workforce of about 1200 people.
Her nomination said she had made a significant contribution to Southland communities over an involvement in the red meat industry which spanned more than 40 years.
That included site manager for Silver Fern Farms Waitane, near Gore, before she took on the "big beast"— as she calls it — that was Finegand.
Bronwyn grew up in in Mataura, the youngest of four girls, and recalled tagging along with her father to his job at the freezing works where a highlight was running through the plant to choose what piece of offal she wanted for her lunch.
After leaving school, she went straight to Southland Frozen Meats’ plant in Mataura in 1984 to work as a laboratory technician. After five years, she embarked on her OE and, on her return, joined Waitane Meats Ltd in quality control in 1992.
She moved up the ranks as technical officer and then technical manager, production supervisor and then production manager before being appointed plant manager in 2017.
Initially Bronwyn was asked to help out at Finegand for a few weeks when the previous manager left. But then she realised she "actually couldn’t leave".
"I felt like I needed to stay here, I felt they needed someone to care for them and to be there to help."
So after six months of managing both sites, she became a permanent fixture at Finegand, travelling each day from her Gore home to the plant, a significant employer in the Clutha district.
Such a large force came with responsibility, something she keenly felt. She was fortunate to have an "amazing" team around her; there was a common thread of people all wanting to be on the same journey, to see improvements and to work for Silver Fern
Farms because they were proud of what they did.
She acknowledged at times her job was "bloody tough" and also that she had "incredibly bad imposter syndrome".
It had taken hard work and some sacrifices to get where she was. There was a fair bit of stubbornness involved as well.
She was passionate about what she did and also keen to share the opportunities available in the industry. Her own journey had seen "fantastic" wider support and training.
Her nomination said she was known for creating strong team cultures within the sites she has managed and ensured the company supported many local goodwill initiatives.
A believer of getting out in the district and telling people that Silver Fern Farms was the employer of choice, that included introducing the Local Legend initiative.
So does it consume her life?
"I guess it does ... you do have to be that way inclined, you have people working 24/7 so switching off isn’t easy," she said.
While pleased with what she had achieved at Finegand, she said it was still work in progress and she wanted to see out what she had started.
