Joan joined the Waikato Reading Association in 1971 while at Teachers’ College and became a committee member in the 1980s after becoming Deputy Librarian in 1984. She played a key role in organising events, especially those focused on children’s literature, and served as Forum editor at a national level for 12 years.

At the first NZRA leadership workshop in 2001, Joan took on the role of Forum editor, beginning with Issue 1 in 2002 and continuing until Issue 2 in 2014. She introduced major changes to the journal, including a new name (Literacy Forum NZ), a colour cover, and peer review for key articles. Joan was a dedicated editor, liaising with councils, encouraging submissions, recruiting reviewers, and managing distribution. She also distributed the Waikato Forums, contributed articles and reviews—covering topics such as Māori values in picture books and mathematics in NZ picture books—and was awarded the Marie Clay Travel Award, attending the UKLA conference in 2013.

Joan was a key organiser of the Young Authors’ Conference, first held at Hamilton East School, where she used her extensive children’s literature contacts to bring in well-known authors. Many young attendees had their work published in the WLA newsletter, with some going on to further publication. Joan’s deep knowledge of children’s literature made her a valued contributor to these events.

She also regularly supported other events and provided valuable insight into the workings of both the local council and NZLA. Joan resigned from the Waikato Literacy Association committee in March 2018, marking 47 years of membership and 33 years on the committee. This is a fitting time to nominate her for the NZLA Service Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions at both local and national levels.