Coastguard nets two NZ awards
The year 2018 will be one remember for the volunteer crew of Maketu¯ Coastguard.
The unit, although small in comparison to some, has been punching well above its weight.
At the New Zealand Coastguard National Conference and prizegiving ceremony held in Te Papa Museum on October 13, the Maketu¯ Coastguard unit were finalists for three of the seven major national awards.
The Coastguard National Awards of Excellence recognise and reward the outstanding efforts of the 66 Coastguard units and 2500 volunteers who risk their lives to ensure the safety of Kiwi’s on the water each year.
The Maketu¯ Volunteers were blown away when they were awarded not just one but two of the major awards.
They were awarded the National Coastguard Unit of the Year and also the National Community Relations Activity of Year, a truly outstanding achievement, not to be taken lightly.
The Community Relations Activity of the Year is an award that recognises excellence in the area of public relations, fundraising and community engagement by the group.
The Unit of the Year award recognises the unit that has achieved excellence in all aspects of its management and operational activities.
Winning these awards, together with the Trustpower WBOP Supreme Award for Community Work in September, is a truly awesome achievement for any volunteer unit.
“It is great that the volunteers in the unit have been recognised for the outstanding work and commitment they have given, not just for training and saving lives, but also within the community,” says president Shane Beech.
“Our volunteer crew has worked extremely hard over the last year, promoting Coastguard and water safety, training and fundraising, and working on the building of our new rescue vessel.’
“We are close knit group, with some truly awesome people, who have given over and above the norm.
“As president, I cannot thank them enough for what they have given to the unit and the community, and achieved in return.
“As a unit we are now in a strong position, with a fully operational volunteer crew of 16 and with some state of the art equipment and vessels, ready to take on whatever is placed before us in the years to come.”
These awards were the icing on the cake for a very successful year for the crew at Maketu¯ following the launch of their new rescue vessel, Kohinui Rescue on September 30.
“The Maketu¯ Coastguard unit would like to thank all its sponsors including TECT, Eastpack, One Foundation, Lion Foundation, WBOP, AMI, Infinity Foundation and A&K Marsh for their support over the past year,” says treasurer Geoff Oliver.
“Without such generosity we would not be able to continue to develop and be out there to saving lives at sea. The start of the summer season has already been busy, with several boat rollovers on the bar.
“Two weeks ago we had two boat rollovers on the Kaituna bar and a boat rescue from Pukehina bar, all in 24 hours.
“We are ready to respond whenever required, however, we want all boaties to have a great summer out there on the water and we urge you to check your safety equipment before heading out and remember the rules of the safe boating,” says Geoff.
The Maketu¯ Coastguard unit will not be sitting back. The work continues — they are in the process of planning their next bar crossing training event and urge boaties to watch out for notifications in the coming weeks and book their place to attend.
Details of the next bar crossing training will be on the unit’s website and Facebook page.