22 Jun 2009

Judges’ verdict rolls in

You may not know all the names, but all of them have added something of value to life in Opotiki in the past year. There are 81 nominations for the town's 2009 Contributions Award and after difficult deliberations, the judges verdict will be delivered at a celebratory presentation show on Saturday night - dubbed "a night out with our stars".

The great, the good and the deserving are all there spread over eight categories and all is set for a night of fun and emotion at the De Luxe Theatre.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia is one of the guest presenters and said she was excited about attending the awards. As minister for the community and voluntary sector, the evening will have special significance for Mrs Turia. "The people of Opotiki should be proud of their volunteers and the valuable work they have done and continue to do," she said. "The work of volunteers is so significant that many people don't realise they are the back bone of our country and, without their generosity, our communities - and even our economy - would plummet.

The contribution awards ceremony comes at the end of volunteer awareness week and Mrs Turia called on people who have never done voluntary work to consider doing so for at least one hour a month.

Another guest at the ceremony is Sir Ron Carter, a trustee of the Sir Peter Blake Trust, an organisation that celebrates the achievements of outstanding individuals with the aim of creating inspirational role models who will motivate others to aim higher. Knighted in 1998 for his contribution to engineering and business administration, Sir Ron has been chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority and is chairman of the Committee for Auckland, and an appointee to the new infrastructure board that will deal with the formation of new Auckland unitary authority.

A man with passionate interest in leadership, he is looking forward to attending the awards.

Opotiki News - 16 June 2009