Bruce Trask has been made a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in the 2015 Queens Birthday Honours List for services to the environment and sport.
Bruce Trask has been made a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in the 2015 Queens Birthday Honours List for services to the environment and sport.
Six Bay of Plenty people will receive investitures at Government House this week.
Dr Anthony (Tony) Townsend, of Whangamata, will receive a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health.
Allan (Derek) Spratt, of Te Puke, will receive a Queen's Service Medal for services to agriculture.
Bruce Trask, of Tauranga, will receive a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the environment and sport.
The three Bay men will be honoured among New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum; internationally recognised health researcher and the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor Dr Peter Gluckman today.
Later this week Robyn Rosie, of Te Puke, will receive a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education, Susan (Sue) Baker Wilson, of Katikati, will receive a Queen's Service Medal for services to historical research and war commemoration and Susan Heath, of Tauranga, a Queen's Service Medal for services to foster care.
Derek Spratt has never been one for accolades.
But when the Pukehina dairy farmer was acknowledged with a Queen's Service Medal for his services to agriculture the 70-year-old told the Bay of Plenty Times he felt overwhelmed to be nominated by his peers.
However, his focus has always been on the people "and there are a lot of others doing great things in the rural community that also deserve credit," he said.
Derek Spratt has been recognised with a QSM for his services to agriculture.
He joined the Te Puke Young Farmers when he left school and said it shaped his future and voice although his father Gordon was also a great influence and received the Queens Service Order for services to the community after spending years as the dairy chairman for the Tauranga County Council.
A respected identity in the rural community, he has worn many hats but has most notably been a member of Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers for 46 years including a five-year stint as provincial president.
There is nothing half-hearted about Bruce Trask when it comes to passion for his community.
The well-known zero waste and recycling educator and pioneering sports figure has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the environment and sport.
A humble Mr Trask, 70, said: "When I got the letter I was bit blown away. It was very unexpected. "It's certainly a huge honour to be recognised in this way."
Ms Thomas, a cycle safety advocate and event organiser has also been at the heart of many flagship sports and fundraising events in Tauranga in the past 25 years.
After a teaching career that spanned 24 years, including holding three principal positions, Mr Trask established the Bay of Plenty Sports Foundation, now Sport Bay of Plenty, in 1988, becoming its first chief executive.
He established the Community Sport Trust, through which he organised a number of recreational and competitive sporting events, some of which continue to run 25 years on - including the iconic Port of Tauranga Half Marathon.
In 1993, after retiring as chief executive with Sport Bay of Plenty, Mr Trask won a position to develop a Zero Waste Education programme for Tauranga City Council, which was first taught in 1994.
