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2009 Award Winners
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Apprentice Award for Overall Excellence
Kurt Verduyn
Kurt is a highly valued young apprentice who always exceeds expectations and demonstrates maturity and responsibility in all aspects of his work and his life. The judges were very impressed with Kurt’s ability to see the bigger context of the business and supplier relationships, his exceptional communication skills and his commitment to the community. He is an inspirational role model.
Kurt is a second year carpentry apprentice employed by 4Trades Apprenticeship Training Trust and working at, host company, Central Blue Ltd. Confidence is so high in his abilities that he is regularly given tasks usually undertaken by a qualified carpenter. He handles these competently and pays attention to quality and detail. Kurt also successfully manages the theoretical elements of the apprenticeship, completing work to a consistently high standard. He is level headed and shows initiative and commitment beyond his years.
Kurt is a good communicator with customers, subcontractors and work colleagues. He is an enthusiastic team player who takes safety seriously.
As a member of the volunteer Alexandra Fire Brigade, Kurt makes a significant contribution to the community. This role led to his participation in a recent relay race fundraiser at the Auckland Sky Tower.
Kurt is passionate about his carpentry apprenticeship, which he says has given him direction for the future and the desire to be the best he can be. |
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Apprentice Award for Most Developing Potential
Morgan Boyd
Morgan is a highly esteemed apprentice who has earned genuine respect in her male-dominated field by acquiring a great deal of knowledge and perfecting her skills to a very high order in a short period of time. The judges were particularly impressed with Morgan’s achievements, her ability to build relationships, her community involvement and her discerning approach to her work.
Morgan has just completed her first year as and automotive refinisher. She is employed by 4Trades Apprenticeship Training Trust and works at host company Vincent Holdings. Faith in Morgan is such that she is permitted to undertake the crucial roles of picking and matching colours and sorting quantities.
Morgan is committed to both the written and the practical requirements of the apprenticeship. She is already able to meet timeframes and to fully think through processes. She also has good product knowledge and adapts quickly to new techniques. She is on the company’s health and safety committee and is the on-site paint shop first aid officer.
Morgan is approachable, offers constructive input and displays initiative and maturity when dealing with customers.
Community and family life are important to Morgan. She and her partner have a daughter and Morgan finds the time to be involved in community fundraising as well as supporting Central Otago Wastebusters and Keep Alexandra Beautiful.
Morgan says her apprenticeship has given her direction, confidence, discipline and a feeling of self worth. |
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Youth Award for Leadership and Community Service
Rowan Tumai
Rowan has many exceptional leadership and personal qualities. He values his bi-cultural heritage, excels at sport and relates well to people of all ages. The judges noted his strong personality and described him as an outstanding leader who commands respect and mana.
Currently studying towards NCEA Level 3 at Roxburgh Area School (ages 5 to 18), Rowan is Head Student. He is the leader of the sports committee, a house leader, a member of the formal committee and the CEO of the Young Enterprise Scheme group. He is a capable public speaker, participates in school productions and has attended both the Outward Bound Course and the New Zealand Area Schools Leadership Course.
Rowan plays 1st 15 rugby and has been in many representative teams and participated in the U17 Development Squad. As well, he has represented the school in basketball, cricket (captain), athletics and volleyball. Rowan is currently the senior boys cross country champion and the senior boys swimming champion.
As a member of the community whanau group, Rowan leads the haka and has taught kapa haka to younger students. He has received the Mana Pounamu Award and the He Whare Wananga Award for encouraging bicultural relationships at school.
Rowan is a natural leader who contributes greatly to the school and general community and is an excellent role model for younger students. |
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YOuth Award for Culture
Margot Streeter
Margot is truly passionate and highly committed to the arts. At age 16 she has already exhibited an unwavering dedication across many years, achieving high levels of excellence in dance, music and drama. The Cromwell College student’s enthusiasm extends to leadership roles in performances and to supporting young children.
The judges were extremely impressed by Margot’s dedication and her impressive achievements, which demonstrate what they describe as a long and serious life in the arts’.
Margot has passed Royal Academy of Dance ballet exams and is currently studying for a vocational exam. She has enjoyed lead roles in productions and assisted with choreography with an insightfulness that adds a creative dimension.
Margot plays the flute. She has gained Trinity Guildhall Grade 5 and is preparing for NCEA Level 2 in solo and group performance. She plays as the principal flautist in Central Otago Regional Training Orchestra.
Margot is preparing for Speech and Drama Trinity Guildhall Grade 8 exams, having passed earlier exams with distinction. She received first place in duologue in the 2007 Central Otago Musical Society Competitions.
Margot was this year selected to attend the National Youth Drama School in Hawkes Bay for eight days. She tutors two young students in speech and drama and is currently completing her Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.
Margot demonstrates tremendous passion, commitment, exceptional achievement and leadership across the arts. |
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Youth Award for Enterprise
Willie Miller
Willie is a leader with a strong community spirit. Displaying a maturity beyond his 16 years, he instils community pride through his volunteer work on radio. He also fundraises, plays sport and even holds down a paper run. The judges were particularly impressed with Willie’s attitude, describing him as epitomising enterprise in the community and a genuine ‘light’ in the team.
Willie has been a volunteer at Burn729am for two years. This radio station is an essential communication tool with a strong ethos of equality and serving the community in all its diversity. Willie has embraced this ethos, dedicating himself to three afternoon shifts on air and often committing to the early 6am-10am shift during school holidays. He also assists with promotions backstage, fundraisers and special shows and he trains new announcers.
Willie is studying towards NCEA at Maniototo Area School. He is an able sportsman, playing for the southern area schools’ rugby, volleyball and basketball teams. He is on the school’s curling team, which won the secondary school championship in 2008, and he skips the Burn729am curling team in the social league.
In 2007 Willie was awarded the school’s Contribution to Arts & Culture Award and he was part of the Burn729am team when it received the Trustpower National Volunteer Awards, Arts & Culture in 2007 and 2008.
Willy shows versatility and stick-ability, leading and participating with enthusiasm in the community. |
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Tourism Award
Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park
The owners of Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park are highly motivated towards their goals of providing a traditional kiwi experience and embracing sustainable development. They are the driving force behind significant improvements to facilities, greatly increased visitor numbers, strong planning and operational strategies and sustainable practices.
The judges were particularly impressed with the strength of the evidence and examples showing how this business has continually improved and developed, and by its involvement in the community.
Kay and John Searle, Richard Wallis and Catherine Woods have owned and operated Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park for the past 17 years. The park has some 25 motel units and cabins, 250 powered sites and about 200 non-powered sites. There are three full time staff and 12 seasonal staff. Everyone takes great pride in developing a sense of community between visitors, some of whom have been returning for generations.
Democratic leadership draws on the individual and varied strengths of the ownership team, which has a communicative relationship with staff who are highly valued.
On-site responsible tourism and sustainable development initiatives include annual tree planting, Central Otago heritage landscape features, water conservation, recycling, waste management, energy saving measures and good insulation.
Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park provides consistently enhanced visitor experiences and contributes to the wellbeing of the community, which it has also supported through sponsorship and donations to groups. |
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Business Excellence Award
Cromwell Pharmacy
At Cromwell Pharmacy the customer is paramount. With strong leadership and exceptional strategic planning it continually strives to improve on its already high quality services and to successfully foster innovation. The judges were impressed with Cromwell Pharmacy’s attention to best practice and benchmarking.
In a little over a year, Jackie Hamilton, the owner-operator-pharmacist, has put into place quality systems to ensure greater customer safety and satisfaction, staff knowledge and interaction and community participation in health and medicine-related initiatives.
Cromwell Pharmacy offers personalised service, advice and inventive programmes. It set up the Self-Care Programme, offering discounts to regular supplement purchasers. Its innovative Repeat Reminder System for customers with regular repeat prescriptions resulted in the pharmacy’s trainee dispensary technician being awarded technician of the year at the 2009 Pharmacy Awards.
Community initiatives include a Blokes Only Health night offering key, free checks, a DUMPP (Discard of unwanted Medicines Properly at the Pharmacy) campaign and a scholarship for a first year student of Health Sciences.
The pharmacy has an open door communication style with its staff of four full-timers and five part-timers. Regular training is available and staff members are given individual responsibility for setting up specific projects.
Cromwell Pharmacy has a positive work environment, employs excellent processes and is highly focused on its customers and the community. |
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Brand Ambassador Award
Ray Carey
Ray has a passion for Central Otago’s magnificent natural and historic wealth. He is particularly keen for others to experience these special points of difference and as the judges noted, he has been promoting them, at his own expense, for a very long time. The judges were impressed by Ray’s genuine drive to do good in the community and through his business Terrace Distributors (1985) Ltd.
The Central Otago ‘World of Difference’ brand principles are most vividly illustrated by Ray on his trucks. In 1998 he commissioned a 20 metre x 3 metre scene, Alexandra Bridge in Autumn to be painted on the side of a semi-trailer, accompanied by the ‘World of Difference’ logo. Since then Ray has accumulated 14 images on his trucks that feature a range of iconic Central Otago scenes that include the Alexandra railway station, Clutha River gold dredge, Poolburn viaduct and curling at Oturehua. Ray has created a mobile gallery that promotes Central Otago across 1.4 million kilometres through Otago, Southland and Canterbury every day of every year.
Locally, Ray supports the Alexandra Blossom Festival and was instrumental in the formation of the Alexandra District Club.
Ray is a hard worker with a quiet demeanour who has consistently embraced the brand, engaging his 45 employees in the process; and leading by example, sharing and inspiring others of all ages in all aspects of his life. |
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Community Service Award
Joanne Rae
Joanne has contributed significantly to the Millers Flat community across several decades, upholding the ideals of the rural/business woman and serving a huge range of causes with seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm.
Currently, Joanne’s primary commitment is to St John where she has demonstrated extraordinary loyalty as an ambulance driver for seven years and the volunteer team manager for four years, devoting long hours to a variety of tasks.
Joanne tirelessly supported many organisations, while raising three children (now grown), supporting her husband John’s career and fire brigade commitments and engaging in her own career, working up to the position of branch manager at the BNZ.
Over the years Joanne has helped to successfully fundraise for the refurbishment of the baths, served on the Millers Flat School Board of Trustees for nine years (from 1989), always honoured commitments to Millers Flat Rural Women and been the driving force behind the town’s weekly bulletin, Molyneux Mail.
Joanne is a ‘superwoman’ who always willingly gives up her personal time to contribute to the community whether it be for a cake stall, a funeral tea, working through an organisation’s funding problem or attending an ambulance callout on a frosty evening. |
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Community Service Award
Stewart McKnight
Stewart is an outstanding contributor to the Central Otago community, particularly in regard to sport. He demonstrates integrity and a deep and enduring commitment to the causes he supports and has done so for many decades.
Stewart is the only person to hold life membership for both the Otago Rugby Union and the Otago Cricket Association and has been president of both. He is also a life member of the Otago Country Rugby Referees Association, the Blackstone Hill Curling Club and the New Zealand Curling Association.
Stewart’s curling record is long and impressive. He has held numerous high office positions locally and nationally. He has toured overseas in the New Zealand team and he has coached the national men’s team. As secretary of the Idaburn Curling Council since 1983, he organises the traditional two-day Bonspiel at Oturehua. He is also vice chairman of Maniototo Curling International Inc.
In Cricket, Stewart has been president of the former Oturehua club twice and is now the leading force in the preparation of the wicket at Oturehua Domain. He has served on numerous school and community committees over the years and is an active and high ranking member of the Freemasons.
Stewart has devoted hours of time and service to the community for more than 50 years, giving back to sport, in particular, ‘10 fold’ whatever he may have gained. |
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Community Service Award
Ruth Reid
Ruth is an accomplished musician and singer, and qualified teacher who has taught singing and piano in Central Otago for 36 years. She inspires her students to be the best they can be and she gives selflessly in many ways, ensuring they are able to make the most of opportunities.
Ruth’s musical career has bought her many accolades. Highlights include mezzo soprano roles in Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, and choir performances under the baton of eminent British choral conductor, Sir David Willcocks. She has been musical director, accompanist, and played lots of leading roles for the Alexandra Musical Society.
Ruth teaches many young people and some mature students with ‘a lavish dose of passion, and a huge helping of fun’. Her exacting standards have resulted in a disproportionate number of her students achieving success. So far, seven of them have been accepted into the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Choir and four of those were selected for the New Zealand Youth Choir. Ruth takes it upon herself to organise and run events, raising thousands of dollars, so that these students can partake.
Every year Ruth donates a great deal of time and absorbs the cost of travelling to students’ competition festivals, which are usually held over weekends.
Through Ruth’s talent, dedication and generosity she has contributed to and opened up the world of music to many people in the community. |
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Community Service Award
Hazel Harrison
Hazel has shown outstanding leadership qualities and immense enthusiasm for the Maniototo and Naseby, in particular. Her giving and undemanding nature, coupled with her commitment to making a difference makes her the ‘quintessential volunteer’.
For 16 years Hazel has been instrumental as secretary of the Maniototo Ice Rink working tirelessly to turn around its fortunes and to take it forward, resulting in the advent of the Maniototo Curling International and New Zealand Luge. She has also organised the rink’s annual Highland ball since its inception 14 years ago.
Hazel’s other community involvements include secretary to the Naseby Town Hall Committee and the Naseby Information and Crafts Centre, committee member of the Maniototo Early Settlers Association, assisting with the Bulletin for Maniototo Lions Club and work with the now defunct Naseby Progress League.
A former nurse and enthusiastic craftswoman, Hazel has also produced two published works at her own expense, one on Naseby’s history and another that grew out of it, Sudden Death and Murder on the Mt Ida Goldfield about significant tragedies on the goldfield.
Renown for her ‘unique laugh’ and invariable response of, “not a bother” to expressions of gratitude, Hazel has worked determinedly in her community, applying her wisdom and skills to great effect and with humility. |
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Community Service Award
Linda Armstrong
Linda is a highly motivated, inspirational, considerate person who exercises initiative and leadership in vital roles in many organisations in the Becks/Omakau area and she has done so for many years.
Arriving 27 years ago as the young bride of a farmer, Linda worked alongside her husband, raised their children and became immersed in the community. A stalwart of the Union Church, she holds several offices and has been described as ‘the best import ever’ to come from Australia.
Linda joins organisations for the long haul and some of those that have benefited from her calm nature, can-do attitude and incredible organisational skills are: Becks Plunket, playgroup, school board of trustees, hall committee, Bulletin, Dunstan PTA, Buddy Programme, St Bathan’s Ghost to Ghost Triathlon, plus schools and the Omakau Operatic Society with her costume making. Individually, many have remarked on the significance of her contribution.
Despite the decline of Linda’s eyesight over the past six years to the point where she has difficulty reading and can no longer drive, she continues to be committed to community causes. She employs strategies to ensure her participation isn’t compromised and has, in fact, increased her volunteer workload during this time.
Linda is ‘a ball of dynamite’ who serves her community with infectious enthusiasm, tremendous skill and ability, and absolute commitment. |
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