Forever 26 Trust

It is a sad fact that in many areas of life, perception differs greatly from reality!

This is particularly so when it comes to hotels and holiday resorts around the globe with guest access to open waters, and most particularly with young adults and families with children where the full range of facilities on offer are embraced with enthusiasm by one and all.

Typically the daily room rate is high due to the access to pearly white beaches and unspoiled reefs just waiting to be explored, and because of this, one and all automatically associate the expensive holiday with the full provision of services; including the abdication of all aspects of our health and safety to the hotel or resort who themselves are enjoying the rewards of our hard earned cash.

And therein lies the problem; in countless such hotels and resorts around the world, health and safety measures for their guests is minimal to nonexistent, and we should know, as we lost our eldest daughter Rebecca on a pearly white beach at the end of November last year in an incident that was totally and utterly preventable.

Even sadder than this is the fact that Becky is not the first person to die this way, but we seek to ensure that she is the last. The Forever 26 Trust has been formally established to try and prevent any other family ever having to bring their child home the way that we had to bring our Becky!

On the 8th of May 2008, The Forever 26 Deed of Trust was formally signed by the founding trustee’s who are Heather Richards, Becky’s mother, Mark Crawley, Becky's father and John Smart.

John is a long-standing family friend, a maritime engineer who continues to work extensively in the maritime field internationally, and is the father of Ben Smart who along with Olivia Hope disappeared in the Marlborough Sounds a decade ago.

Heather, John and I fully support the aims and goals of the Forever 26 Trust which include:

• The mandatory requirement for propeller guards on all inshore craft owned and operated by commercial operations where the craft may operate near their own guests
• The mandatory requirement for minimum international standard boom-buoy systems to ensure the same inshore craft of commercial operations can never encroach into approved guest swimming areas
• A change in regulations to make it law that the number of operators of such inshore craft must be a minimum of two; one driving and one acting as lookout
• A change in regulations to set minimum international standards for signage around such resorts, and
• A change in regulations to set minimum international standards of medical facilities and trained staff to be available at all times.

The Forever 26 Trust also seeks to increase safety awareness through campaigning for travel brokers internationally to include health and safety as comparative information available in their brochures along with the current comparisons of food quality, room quality and the like.

The Forever 26 Trust also in part seeks to hold those accountable who through their negligence caused such a senseless death to occur.

This may seem to some a big task, but it is achievable and lives will be saved. Becky was not the first to die, but we can make her the last, and to achieve this, Heather, John and I need help; we need your help.

If you wish to discuss this further with me, please contact me on mark@forever26.com.

The Forever 26 Trust has formally applied for charitable status in New Zealand and this will be retrospective back to the 8th of May 2008. We can see no reason for this formal request to be denied, however this is a long process and the outcome will not be known for at least another 3 months.

If at any time you wish to make a donation, this can be made:

• Directly at any National Bank in New Zealand under the name of “Forever 26”,
• By the PayPal button on the right side of the screen, or
• Through a funds transfer to:

• The National Bank of New Zealand, Blenheim Branch 40 - 42 Market Street, Blenheim
• SWIFT Code: ANZBNZ22
• Account Name: FOREVER 26
• Account: 06 - 0601 - 0211815 - 30
• Sort Code (if Required separately): 06 - 0601

Any assistance will be most gratefully received. We cannot do this without your support.

From approximately 12:30 pm today New Zealand time, 3rd Jul 2008, and for approximately the next 24 hours, an interview on the TV New Zealand “Good Morning” program will be accessible through the following link:

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvone_minisite_index_skin/tvone_good_morning_group

Thank you for reading this, thank you to all who care for and love Rebecca, and thank you sincerely on behalf of Heather, John and myself and all of Becky’s family to those who can help us make some sense out of Becky’s death by doing our best to make sure that she is the last of our children to be brought home in this way.

With your help, we can make a difference; we can save lives; and we can bring some meaning to Rebecca’s death.

A Bottle of Memories

On November 3rd and 4th, just three weeks before they were married, Rebecca and Hayden spent the weekend with Rebecca’s father Mark, her eldest sister Nichola and her little brother Nicholas.

On Saturday there was a long debate as to what would be the most entertaining way to spend the afternoon. Nichola passionately held out for Mini Golf in Picton, but the majority ruled, so everyone climbed into the Bighorn and set off for an afternoon of wine tasting.

As Hayden drove down Old Renwick Road, Rebecca insisted “track 10” on the CD be played, her favourite tune of all time, and played at full volume! With Rebecca in the back singing along to “One Night in Bangkok” at the top of her voice, anywhere down Rapara Road was as good a place to start as anywhere.

If the day started out happy, after a few stops it was even happier, and Domain George Michel was added to the list. Rebecca loved some of their wine so much, out came the credit card and a few bottles purchased. As she was completing the purchase, she noticed a large jar on the desk with a sign noting that a monthly draw was made for a free bottle of wine. So, into the bottle went her business card.

She asked her Dad for one of his business cards as well, and as there was no New Zealand address on his business card, she wrote her home address on the back and added it to the pile.

On Friday December 7th, the day after the family returned to New Zealand from Fiji with Rebecca, everyone met at Hayden’s for lunch and in the middle of the meal a Post Haste Courier arrived.

It was a bottle of Domain George Michel Golden Mile Pinot Noir for Rebecca’s Dad, the prize winner for the November 07 draw.

Julie Yonge of Domain George Michel said that they are always very careful to ensure that the draw each month is fair and unbiased. When the draw was initially made, it was Rebecca’s business card that was drawn first. Julie had worked with Rebecca briefly in the past at Century 21 in Blenheim so knew that she had just been tragically killed.

There was a further problem however, as when Rebecca’s card was drawn it was attached to a second business card, thereby invalidating the draw.

Both business cards were put aside and a second draw made.

This time, and maybe with a little “assistance” from Rebecca, her Dad’s card was drawn.

The very gratefully received bottle of Pinot Noir, along with the business card with Rebecca’s own hard writing on the back, are now safely locked away, to be opened maybe one day in the future in memory of Rebecca.

Rebecca’s Dad is sincerely grateful to Julie Yonge and Domain George Michel for this wonderful memory.

Rebecca fund may be used to help children

A fund set up by the family of Marlborough woman Rebecca Stockwell who was killed in Fiji on her honeymoon will probably to be used to help children.

Rebecca Stockwell's huband, Hayden, and her parents, Heather Richards and Mark Crawley, have yet to work out details of the fund but feel some of the money should be spent in Fiji.

Heather said her daughter loved children, and she hoped to use some of the fund money to help children in Fiji as she feels that would make Rebecca happy.

Heather said she could talk for hours about the daughter she was immensely proud of and the world was a poorer place without her.

"Talking in the past tense is the hardest thing," she said.

Mark said the fund was in its early stages as they needed to work through Fiji regulations and wait for outcomes of various inquiries.

He said safety in resorts was becoming more important as more powerful boats were being used. The fund will also probably be used to promote water safety.

He said nothing would ever be 100 percent safe but if they could prevent another family going through the same thing that would be good.

"I still can't wrap my mind around it. All I can say is there is part of me utterly wants to panic at the thought of never seeing her again."

He had a business idea with his daughter and intends to continue what they started with some of the profits going towards the Forever 26 fund.

Hayden said Rebecca was very much loved by her friends and family and he would like the fund to be able to do something in her memory.

"I just want people to know what a great girl she was."

For information on how to donate to the fund, use the PayPal Button on the right hand side or read the article below "In Memory of Rebecca, Forever to be 26 ".

Based on a story in the Marlborough Express, 9th January 2008.

Rebecca illustration kindly forwarded by Nicky Meadowcroft.

Forever 26 in Rebecca's memory

In his first interview since his wife Rebecca Stockwell (nee Crawley) was killed by a boat while on honeymoon in Fiji, Hayden Stockwell talked to RACHEL YOUNG of the Marlborough Express about his horrendous day.

Hayden and Rebecca had arrived on the island of Matamanoa, for their honeymoon the day before and spent their first day swimming, lying on the beach and walking.

The next morning they had breakfast and lay on the beach for an hour or so before going into the water.

Hayden said they had been in the water for about five minutes and were 15 metres from the shore in a dedicated swimming and snorkling area from which boats were barred, when a passing boat hit Rebecca.

The couple were taken to shore aboard the boat, helicoptered to the airport and then taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Hayden said Rebecca fought and was unconscious for about four hours before she died. "The week before, I told her I'd spend the rest of my life with her and six days later she's gone."

The morning of the accident, Hayden's wedding ring fell off in the water while he was swimming, but when he arrived back to New Zealand his brother-in-law had had a replica made.

Hayden said wearing the ring helped him feel like a part of Rebecca is still here.

After the accident, Hayden phoned his mother and asked her to phone family members and friends. He waited in Fiji with the resort manager until members of his family and Rebecca's family arrived.

Getting back here was hard. It was good to be back and have everyone around but it just made it more real."

Hayden stayed with his mother on his first night back and the next day he went back to the house he and Rebecca had shared.

"Walking through that front door was awful really."

He hasn't been able to face the pile of wedding presents that awaited him and has put them in the untouched bedroom. For now, he prefers to sleep on the couch.

Rebecca's dogs, which were her babies, were a comforting presence, he said.

He said the time in Fiji and immediately after was a blur and he had no idea how he coped, but he credits his family and friends and the support of the town as important.

Hayden first thought that he would never go back to Fiji, but said he may feel the need to on their anniversary.

He said he did not find it hard going out to Rebecca's grave but found it very hard to leave.
"She may just walk around the corner."

Hayden and Rebecca's parents, Heather Richards and Mark Crawley are setting up a fund to promote water safety and increase general safety awareness and in part to make accountable those who caused her death to occur.

The fund is called the Forever 26 fund.
One of the things Hayden would like to see changed after the accident is the enforcement of rules about boats and recreational swimming areas in Fiji resorts.

Hayden said helping do that would be a comfort to him.

Based on a story in the Marlborough Express, 8th January 2008.

Tragedy ends family's shared business dream

When Blenheim honeymooner Rebecca Crawley was killed in Fiji, it ended her dream to work in the American corporate world on a special project.

It was special because it involved an innovation her father, Mark, has filed patents on, and she would have worked alongside him with globally recognised brands such as McDonald's, Disney and Universal Studios.

It was a dream her new husband, Hayden Stockwell, shared, and the plan was to move to North America to make it a reality.

The dream was shattered when the couple, married just six days, were snorkelling at a Fijian resort and a boat ran into Rebecca, killing her.

That was four weeks ago, and friends and family have struggled to come to terms with her death, holding on to the memory of a vivacious young woman. A photograph published in newspapers and on website Forever26 dedicated to her memory shows her at her wedding laughing and reaching out. She is talking to a child not seen in the photo, but it shows her happiness and excitement.

"Rebecca lit up any room anywhere. Her laughter and her energy would utterly fill that room," Mark said.

That is the Rebecca most people knew, but there was another _ a "switched-on" businesswoman, as Hayden describes her. She had completed a Bachelor of Commerce in international marketing and management at Canterbury University.

Businessman and Canterbury University marketing lecturer Bob Peffers said from the United States that she was creative and had a strong business focus.

"It's a combination I have seen only rarely in students, especially in New Zealand. She had the potential to take a real leadership role," he said. "Of the students that I see coming out of higher education, she had the highest potential to move straight up the ladder."

In two gap years during her university time she had worked with her father at Coca-Cola in Atlanta and with Bacardi Martini in Britain.

"She was young _ she was 21, 22 _ but she blew everybody away everywhere she went," said Mark.

Harry Epstein, innovation vice- president for Havi Global Solutions in the US, a major supplier of products and services to McDonald's, said: "Rebecca had a lot of good energy. She had a lot of passion for the business and the concept and what her role was going to be. She was going to be a great part of the team."

Mark, who describes himself as an over-qualified Cantabrian, has three university degrees in engineering and works in innovative design. The inventor-entrepreneur has several patents and loves a challenge.

Four years ago he was set one when he was at the Paysanne restaurant in Blenheim with his three children. Daughter Nichola was waitressing, but had the night off, and introduced him to the other waitresses.

"They asked me if I could invent a drinking straw to stop it floating up and trying to fall out of a carbonated drink. It was all a lot of fun and everybody laughed about it," he said.

It got him thinking, and that bit of fun has led to something more serious.

Later, Mark, who was then based in Britain, flew home via Asia to attend his daughter's graduation in Christchurch. At a business meeting in Seoul, a South Korean businessman made a comment about a problem with making a special novelty straw.

"That night in my hotel room thinking about how to solve that problem led to me coming up with this new process," he said. "The process allows us to take an existing tube-based product, such as a pen, drinking straw or toothpaste tube, and at very high speed and with minimal cost we can three-dimensionally reform it into an item of high promotional value.

"For example, we can turn a drinking straw into a children's toy."

The invention has led to patents being filed internationally. "It is now tied up with McDonald's Corporation and will ultimately be tied up with virtually every brand, particularly Disney, Universal Studios, the alcohol brands, Hasbro and Mattel _ absolutely everybody."

Harry Epstein, who is on the McDonald's innovation committee, said the technology Mark had invented could be used in a lot of marketing and toy applications. "It's just a matter of imagination and coming up with ideas that meet needs," he said.

The dream was for Rebecca and Hayden to join Mark at Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada, where he is now based.

Rebecca was to work with her father in progressing a business plan for the innovation.
"Her job in the first year would have been to work with a mutual friend who is a former Coca-Cola corporate executive to complete the marketing plans that are required to present the products we can derive out of our processes to all major brands," said Mark.

Hayden, a builder, said it was his wife's dream. "No matter what, that was going to be the plan." They had hoped to go next year, depending on finance being secured for the business.

"She loved her dad," said Mark. "We had an amazing bond. She loved what I did and she was my greatest supporter. Rebecca's dream was to run the corporation, but she had to start out as a vice-president."

Now he will have to do it without her.

With permission of the Press.

In Memory of Rebecca, Forever to be 26

A fund called Forever 26, in memory of Blenheim honeymooner Rebecca Crawley killed while snorkeling in Fiji, has been started to improve safety in the island resorts - and to make accountable those who caused her death.

Rebecca, who would have turned 27 yesterday, was snorkeling with her husband of just six days, Hayden Stockwell, at the island of Matamanoa on November 30 when she was struck by a boat's propeller.

Rebecca's father, Mark Crawley, said the fund was in her memory so the family could take something positive out of what had happened.

"We hope that somehow in her death there is as much if not more meaning than there was in her life.

"The fund would be applied to water safety to stop this ever happening again.

"We understand that you can never make anything 100 per cent safe, but if we can stop one other family going through what we have in losing Rebecca -- it's not enough but is at least something which gives some meaning."

Part of the fund would also be used to "make accountable those who through their negligence have caused such a senseless death".

Donations to the fund can be made through a tribute website, FOREVER26.com, or a National Bank account.

Within New Zealand, the Account details are:

National Bank, Blenheim Branch
Account Name, FOREVER 26
Account 06 - 0601 - 0211815 - 30

Internationally, the Account details are:

The National Bank of New Zealand, Blenheim Branch
40 - 42 Market Street, Blenheim
SWIFT Code ANZBNZ22
Account Name, FOREVER 26
Account 06 - 0601 - 0211815 - 30
Sort Code (if Required separately) 06 - 0601

The family is waiting for the outcome of a Fiji police inquiry into the death, and in New Zealand Christchurch-based Coroner Sue Johnson has started an inquiry.

The coroner said she was not satisfied that all the circumstances would be inquired into in Fiji. "If necessary I will ask somebody from the New Zealand police to go to Fiji ... it's something I would do if I felt I needed to get information."

The coroner has been able to open an inquiry because Rebecca's body was returned to New Zealand.

Wth permission of the Press.

Bubbles for Becky - 24th December 2007

On the 24th December 1980, in Christchurch Woman’s Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed gift that was Rebecca Louise Crawley was born.

Right from the first seconds of her life Rebecca was not one to “follow the crowd”. She decided to come into this world face-up rather than face-down, which meant a difficult forceps delivery for both Heather and Rebecca. She came into the world her way, and that is the way she lived her life.

Just a few minutes after her arrival, and as her mother recovered from the pain of her birth (a very small amount of which I shared with Heather as she had squashed my left hand so hard during Rebecca’s birth that the ring indentations in my two fingers adjacent to my ring-finger remained for hours), I got to hold my first-born little girl in my arms. And as I stared into her beautiful blue eyes in those first moments of her life, I was lost forever in the enchantment that was Rebecca.

I also apologised to her for “bringing her into such a cruel world ruled by Robert Muldoon”!

Today it is 24th December 2007, the day Rebecca would be turning 27 years old.

From that first moment of her life when I was caught in the enchanting spell that was Rebecca Louise Crawley, a spell that also enchanted her mother Heather, her siblings and then her husband Hayden Stockwell, along with countless family, friends, acquaintances and business associates all around the world, Rebecca touched the hearts and lives of all of those she met.

In fact one lady who was also staying on Matamanoa Resort Island, the night before negligence led to her death, was deeply touched by Rebecca purely because of the way Rebecca smiled at her as they passed.

So today, less than a month after she was so cruelly taken from us, to all who ever had the amazing good fortune to know Rebecca and even to those whose lives were touched by her even if you never met her in person, please find a glass of Bubbly at sometime today and raise a toast to Rebecca.

Happy Birthday Rebecca.

Bubbles for Becky, forever to be 26.