Time to honour our community advocates
We all want to make the Far North a great place in which to live and work.
Shepherd was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community.
We probably wouldn’t have Kawakawa’s wonderful Te Hononga Hundertwasser Memorial Park building and library without Noma’s efforts over many years. The building was opened by the Prime Minister in 2020, but completing the project has not slowed Noma down. She is still heavily involved with several community organisations in Kawakawa.
Another Kawakawa resident, Maxine Shortland, was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to netball and governance.
Maxine has 40 years of experience in netball as a player, manager, coach, administrator and parent netball convenor. She is also a director of Netball New Zealand. It’s not only about netball; Maxine is involved in a range of community organisations, and sits on health, conservation and funding boards.
Kerikeri resident Murray Bain was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to tertiary education and digital learning.
Murray was chairman of Open Polytechnic of New Zealand’s Governing Council until 2020, and helped ensure equitable access for Mā ori in online learning. His work proved invaluable during the Covid19 lockdown, when educational organisations looked to Open Polytechnic to help support digital learning initiatives.
Ian Leigh-Mackenzie will be known to many residents of and visitors to Hokianga. The former policeman and publican is now owner of the very popular Ō pononi takeaways. A long-standing member and chairman of the Pā kanae Water Board, Ian worked hard to extend reticulated water supplies to households and a marae in the Hokianga. He was also instrumental in repairing Ō pononi’s iconic statue of Opo the dolphin. He has contributed to numerous Hokianga committees, clubs and associations. Ian received a Queen’s Service Medal for his services to the community.
We all want to make the Far North a great place in which to live and work. That requires the active support of our community. Those honoured last weekend demonstrate the great outcomes that individuals can achieve. They are our people, and they make us all proud.