COMMUNITY GEM: Andy Goodall

Andy Goodall's love for outdoor pursuits has been the spark that drives him to devote his spare time to motivate young people grow confidence and develop their potential.
The 47-year-old Whakamarama father of two boys and Te Puna Scout Troop leader is a qualified caving instructor and abseiler and has also done mountain safety and bush craft courses over the years.
Mr Goodall first became involved in the scouting movement in Auckland aged about 10, going right through cubs and scouts. He became a scout leader in the mid-1980s when his retired policeman father Richard asked him to help out, and clocked up 10 years.
Mr Goodall and his wife Debra and their son David, now aged 14, moved to Tauranga in 1997 and it was natural he would soon get involved in scouting again. Their son Liam, 12, was born in Tauranga.
"I went along to a scout meeting with my older son and said if the group needed some help to yell out," he said. And he has never looked back.
Mr Goodall was scout leader of Te Puna Scout Troop for six years and helps lead a group of 30 scouts aged 10 to 18.
Mr Goodall is always at the forefront of organising all sorts of exciting trips for his young charges - from abseiling down the 300-foot Lost World cave at Waitomo Caves to a double crossing tramp of the Kaimai Ranges.
Since 2007 the Western Bay Scouting annual Mud-lark event was held at various locations around the district but while fun for the little kids it was a pretty tame affair for the older teens, said Mr Goodall.
So he designed a bigger and more energy-sapping obstacle course which gets erected at Bruning's Farm at Omokoroa, including a 60m slide with a sloppy mudpool at the bottom, a pioneering swing bridge, bamboo bridge, rope swing, climbing net, slippery pole, lots of water and oodles of mud.
Mr Goodall said the spark that drives him to spend so much of his spare time working with young people is seeing them "come alive".
"Watching a scared kid standing frozen saying they can't do it and then to see their beaming smile after they've abseiled to the bottom of a huge cave is just magic."
Mr Goodall said the scouting movement was a fantastic organisation to be involved with - in 1991 he received two scouting commendations for his services to Scouting.
"We're not stuck for scouting programmes nor kids keen as but what we lack is scout leaders and we need more adults to step out of their comfort zone and come forward to help out."
Despite being a busy man running his own business Comfort Air Conditioning, Mr Goodall is also a member of Tauranga Land Search and Rescue and is on the first response team for rural searches.
In 1992/93 Mr Goodall spent a year in Antarctica working as a engineer at Scott Base and was a member of the base's search and rescue team.
One of the most poignant local searches he has been involved in is the unsolved disappearance of good friend and Katikati father-of-two Siegfried Newman, known as Siggy, who went missing in February 25, 2008 after dropping his sons Thomas and Oliver at Pahoia School.
For almost three years Mr Goodall searched for his good friend and when speaking about it, it brought huge tears to his eyes.
"For me it became a very personal thing, as I've got two boys the same age and I know if I was lost they would want someone to find me. I couldn't sit at home and do nothing if I have to got the skills to help out, I always will."
Do you know a potential Community Gem? If you know someone who is worthy of recognition, email news@bayofplentytimes.co.nz