New Year Honours list: Alan Bickers

Alan Bickers has been made a Member of the Order in the New Year's Honours. Photo / George Novak

Creating a place for the community to share was a dream come true for Alan Bickers, project manager for the redevelopment of Holy Trinity Church in Tauranga.

It was just one of a wide range of community groups and public organisations that Mr Bickers has been involved in since the late 1970s.

Mr Bickers has today been named a Member of the Order for his services to the community.

"I am very, very humbled about it," Mr Bickers said.

"When you get told you get a bit dumbstruck for a bit."

From all his work across the community, the redevelopment of the church was the most significant project for him.

"That was a labour of love for me. That's the thing I feel most grateful that that's been acknowledged."

Mr Bickers has been the chairman of the Building Practitioners Board from 2005.

In the past, he was president of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand from 1991 to 1992.

Mr Bickers served as a member and chairman of the Transit New Zealand Board from 1997 to 2004 and was a member of the Pacific Health/Bay of Plenty District Health Board and chairman of its audit committee from 1998 to 2000. He was trustee and chairman of Elms Foundation and chairman of the Distributions Committee of Compass Charitable Trust from 2003 to 2007.

He was chairman of the board of governors of Bethlehem Tertiary Institute 1997 to 2004 and project manager for the redevelopment of Holy Trinity Church 1999 to 2002. From 2011 to 2014, he was the chairman of the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.