Dover Samuel's 25 years of continuous service to the Labour Party was acknowledged by the party's hierarchy at the Labour leadership roadshow in Whangarei.
The colourful former Northland Maori MP was awarded a Gold Badge with Life Membership for those years of active service.
Thirty minutes earlier on Monday night Mr Samuels had escorted the three contenders for the top role into Forum North where 200 party faithful eagerly awaited the leadership challenge.
Presentations from Shane Jones, David Cunliffe and Grant Robertson on why they should have the top job were well received at a meeting Labour Party general secretary Tim Barnett described as "upbeat" with a "strong local flavour".
Mr Barnett said Mr Samuels was nominated for the Gold Badge last year and the Whangarei hustings meeting provided an ideal chance to present it.
It was the first time a Labour leadership challenge has been played out on local turf. Twelve such meetings are part of the new regime for choosing a Labour leader - a 40 per cent vote by Caucus peers, 40 per cent by financial members of the party and 20 per cent by delegates from six affiliated unions.
Mr Barnett said Whangarei was included not only to give the meetings a democratic geographic spread, or because there were three electorates in Northland, but because the region was considered "the birthplace of New Zealand". The mining town Blackball, on the West Coast, had been included because it "was the birthplace of the Labour Party in New Zealand," Mr Barnett said.
He said as well as being a new, more democratic process, the leadership meetings offered candidates a good understanding of regional issues they would need to know as leaders.