TECT Western Bay Community Awards 2025: Time to nominate community heroes

The community stars from this year's Western Bay Community Awards.

The Western Bay Community Awards bring together all those involved in the community and volunteer sector to celebrate and acknowledge their community work — and nominations are now open.

TECT deputy chairman Mark Arundel says the awards allow the unsung heroes of the community to be recognised for their impact on Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty.

“Countless groups and individuals are working outside their own day-to-day lives, striving to make the Western Bay of Plenty a better place to live,” he says.

“A thriving region is built with the efforts and enthusiasm of its people, and Tauranga and Western Bay have endless examples of hard-working people doing great things for various spaces within the community.”

Nominations for the 2025 awards are now open across the usual six award categories, along with a new category added for 2025. Local community groups and/or individuals can be nominated for one or several of the award categories: community event award, sustainable future award, diversity and inclusion award, heart of the community award, youth spirit award, volunteer of the year award and best collaboration award.

The best collaboration award is a new category for 2025 that was added to recognise community organisations and/or individuals who have joined forces to achieve a common goal, create positive change or try a new initiative.

If any nominees have dedicated much of their lifetime to the community, a lifetime service award may be presented alongside the seven nominated categories.

The people’s choice award, voted by the public from all nominee finalists, will also be up for grabs in the new year once public voting opens in February.

At this year’s Western Bay Community Awards, Live Well Waihī Beach won the sustainable future award. Live Well Waihī Beach environmental co-ordinator Pip Coombes says this annual event highlights what people and groups do to go the extra mile in our communities.

The 2025 Western Bay Community Awards will be held at Holy Trinity Tauranga on March 20, after an online showcase of all finalists in the seven weeks leading up to the awards evening. The online showcase will be shared on social media.

Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, Tauranga City Council, TECT and Western Bay of Plenty District Council will again deliver the awards for 2025.

Anyone can place a nomination for any of the seven award categories, and any community group or individual can be nominated for their contribution to the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty communities. Self-nominations are also encouraged.

■ Nominations via online form at https://www.tect.org.nz/community-awards-2025/ by October 31.