Dallas Fisher chuffed by honour
When Dallas Fisher received an ‘‘official-looking’’ letter in the post, his wife thought it was a parking fine he hadn’t paid.
It was important - but it wasn’t a parking fine.
Fisher has been recognised in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours - appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business, philanthropy and sport.
‘‘I’m chuffed, but it’s not just me that makes things happen. You’ve seen it - all the staff that work here.’’
Fisher is the man who brought the Sevens to Hamilton and is a founder of NDA Group, a leading Waikato engineering firm. He runs one of the biggest catering companies in the country - Montana Catering - and he was chair of Chiefs Rugby, during which time he helped the flailing franchise find success.
He has been chair of business development entity Waikato Means Business since 2016 and also chairs Go Bus Group, New Zealand’s largest passenger transport operator, which is a joint venture between the commercial arms of Nga¯i Tahu and Waikato Tainui.
But it’s also his involvement with organisations such as Hospice Waikato, Mesh Sculpture Hamilton Trust, Waikato Breast Cancer Research and Perago Sporting Trust that saw him receive a Queen’s honour.
Montana Catering caters for Hospice Waikato’s biggest fundraiser - the Bucket List Banquet - a contribution of around $1 million over the past five years.
At university, he started a rock festival and then started learning about large rugby