Civic Honour for Bob
“This is a very special and proud day for me,” said Bob Dresser upon receiving his Tararua Community Civic Honour in The Hub on Tuesday March 14.
“When I was asked to receive it by Mayor Tracey Collis before Christmas I was surprised, thrilled, humbled and delighted,” he said.
The honour is no surprise to the citizens of Dannevirke where Bob has lived since he and Irene emigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland in 1971.
Serving as a policeman in Dannevirke from then to 1995 he developed a reputation for being a fair, hardworking and caring member of the force.
“We had a great team. Being in the police in Dannevirke was a personal experience where everyone was known and “you were never off-duty”.
While in the police he was heavily involved in community matters particularly as his children grew up. He was a member and often chair of home and school, athletic and cycling club, scout and soccer committees. In 1988 he was runner up nationally in the NZ Truth Bill Cullen Award for outstanding contribution to the community outside the scope of normal duties.
He joined Dannevirke Host Lions in 1982, was President of Dannevirke Host 1990-91, earning a range of awards including life membership in 2013 and initiating projects such as the Blue Beat Disco which funded the Protect the Brains Trust providing cycle helmets for children.
Retiring from the police, he expanded his community service to full time and the range of projects he initiated, facilitated and supported is huge.
He helped the Tararua Aquatic Trust build its Wai Splash pool, initiated Victim Support in Dannevirke, facilitated in the Scandinavian Committee which ultimately became Dannevirke Mainstreet, was secretary of the Dannevirke Promotion and Development Society and chaired the Dannevirke Positive Ageing Forum.
Most recently as Chairman of the Dannevirke Community Board — serving nine years — he has achieved the town’s 44 CCTV cameras and the Dannevirke Community Vehicle.
Eight speakers outlined many other contributions he had made to the community.
He said everything he did was a team effort and he thanked everyone for the support he received.
The ceremony reflected Bob’s interests.
It started with Bob and Irene being piped in and after a welcome from Mayor Tracey Collis the Viking Choir sang Danny Boy which conductor Brian Wilson said was an Irish song written by an Englishman, performed at the request of a Scotsman.
Bob and Terry Hynes then performed a Two Ronnies impression with local content, having the audience of 150 in fits. At Bob’s request the audience was invited to participate in a singalong of Happy Wanderer before eight people spoke about his work.
In presenting Bob with his honour and the civic honour pin, Mayor Tracey Collis said Bob had been a true servant to the community.
The afternoon ended with Lions Pride singing a modified version of The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen (as Southern Sights of Old Dannevirke) and the combined choirs singing Flower of Scotland.