Legends of New Plymouth honoured
The selfless work undertaken by some of the hardest-working volunteers has been recognised through the New Plymouth District Council’s annual citizen awards.
Taranaki Air Ambulance Trust founding trustee
David Drummond (pictured, inset) was one of 11 local legends praised last Wednesday.
Drummond has been flying patients to hospitals for nearly four decades.
In 1984, he started helping to transport patients to bigger hospitals across the country through a service provided by the New Plymouth Aero Club.
When the club stopped providing that service, he helped form the Taranaki Air Ambulance Trust and in 2017 he became the trust’s acting manager while continuing as a trustee.
In his role, he raised $2 million to buy aircraft, build a modern hangar and concrete apron at the airport, while he also built the taxiway as a joint venture with the council.
Other recipients included
Terry Heaps whose knowledge and experience in the legal field has been used extensively as a justice of the peace through the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
Heaps has become a judicial justice of the peace while being elected to the Taranaki Justice of the Peace Association Council, for which he has been vicepresident and president.
Karen Eagles has been president of the New Plymouth and the national Parents’ Centre, advocating for ‘‘rooming in’’ for mothers and babies, swimming pool fencing, car seat laws, fathers attending the births of their babies, and midwives being able to work on their own.
She also delivered produce and meals to women supported by the New Plymouth Women’s Centre, gave toilet bags to
Women’s Refuge, founded the Taranaki Multi Ethnic Council, chaired the Taranaki District Health Board ethics committee, and sat on a WHO compliance panel monitoring the marketing of breast milk substitutes.
Jocelyn Beath has dedicated her life to teaching music. She’s been the director and conductor of the Taranaki Youth Orchestra for the past decade and played a key role forming the Taranaki Music Education Trust and is a trustee of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, which has donated $1 million to Taranaki musicians.
Blair Cox, the 1986 Commonwealth Games silver medallist and owner of Mitchell Cycles, has given his time, energy and advice to help people get on two wheels and improve their lives.
He has coached, supported and sponsored members of Taranaki Toa, set up in 2013 to encourage Māori to improve their fitness and health and take part in an entry-level triathlon.
Vaughan Garrett has been a jack-of-all trades on the surf lifesaving scene for almost 50 years. He joined New Plymouth Old Boys’ Swimming and Surf Club in 1973, where he has held a raft of positions.
Agnes Lehrke has been the linchpin of the Grey Power New Plymouth Association.
She joined Grey Power in 2004 and after two years as a volunteer, was made office manager in 2006. Since then, she has been acting as a co-ordinator of many facets of Grey Power’s activities in New Plymouth.
Children with disabilities who live in Taranaki have access to life-changing support thanks to
Craig Neilsen, who set up Conductive Education Taranaki after travelling to Waikato for four years to access similar support for his son Zak who has Pitt Hopkins syndrome.
Barry Schimanski’s green thumbs and hard work are helping feed those in need. He spends countless hours tending the community garden in Waitara, which provides fresh vegetables to the town’s foodbank.
Michael Urwin has coached youth league in Waitara, established the Taranaki and NZ Touch Associations, been an Owae Marae trustee, was the leading hand in building the Pukearuhe marae and chaired Taia Fisheries, Whaitara Pahake and Pukerangiora Hapu.
Peter Wilson helped found the Bertrand Rd Suspension Bridge Trust, which raised $650,000 to save the bridge from demolition and rebuild it.