A Tauranga woman who usually shuns the limelight has been nominated in this year's Pride of New Zealand awards.
But a humbled Merivale School principal Jan Tinetti said the honour would help boost her community's reputation - which in itself demonstrated the reasons her name was put forward.
The nomination for Ms Tinetti in the Community Spirit category stated: "She takes pride in making sure all her students needs are met - breakfast, lunch, clothes you name it Jan will fix it. She never judges anybody ... Jan also arranges many family events at her school which brings the whole community together.
"Merivale School is a decile 1 school and Jan fights for every cent she gets ... her students are given hope of a bright future as well as showing pride in their work as well as themselves in their home lives. Jan will go the extra mile within the community and she does it from her heart not her head. She never gets publicly acknowledged ... seeing her students succeed is payment enough for her."
Ms Tinetti said she was "blown away" by the nomination.