Pete Masters has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Taupo Queen's Birthday Honours recipient Pete Masters says he feels a bit funny about being made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to search and rescue, conservation and cycling.
Much of what he has done has been as part of a wider team and singling
out one person does not sit quite right with him, he says.
Mr Masters, who has had a 40-year career as a helicopter pilot, has undertaken numerous search and rescue missions. And he was a board member of the Tongariro Taupo Conservation Board and a founding member of Bike Taupo, the group which transformed cycling in the Taupo district.
In his two terms as chairman of the conservation board, Mr Masters helped guide them through complex decisions on significant developments in the Tongariro National Park, including ski area facilities, a sewage treatment and disposal system and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing track.
In 2004, Mr Masters was behind the development of Bike Taupo, which now manages more than 200km of mountain biking tracks.
