Calendar launched to honour Flaxmere heroes

Flaxmeres finest residents will be honoured at a ceremony in Hastings on Monday night.

The launch of the Flaxmere Heroes Calendar will be held at Focal Point Cinema from 5.30pm.

The calendar, which features heroes and heroines recognised for their devotion and contribution to Flaxmere has been released every year since 2010.

The initiative was launched by the U-Turn trust by Hastings district councillor Henare OKeefe as a way to counteract negative publicity towards the suburb.

Mr OKeefe said he expected a large crowd of family and friends of the heroes at the event.

It will be a well-attended, emotional, happy, joyous occasion for the heroes and their families.

It never ceases to amaze me the calibre of the people in the calendar.

The calendar is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the many people who are working hard in Flaxmere, he said.

We have got to celebrate the great things that go on.

Its really about celebrating the positive.

Flaxmeres reputation had been improving since before the calendar but having something like this helped celebrate the good in the suburb.

The change has been steady but slow, theres been significant positive changes.

An initiative like this is also beneficial for the whole region because it shows the good in the area and it should be utilised by other places too, he said.

I think every suburb should have a heroes calendar.

The calendar will be hand delivered to every house in Flaxmere before the end of the year.

The calendar is now an expected item each year and has even made its way to the US and UK.

The launch will have a short welcome, speeches, prayer and waiata before the heroes come on stage individually and a video is shown about them with a few words from Mr OKeefe.

The entries for the 2017 calendar, which was announced in October last year, were Kahurangi Maori Dance Company (January), retired constable Michael Kaye (February), Ikaroa Rangatahi Services (March), The Flaxmere Stake Choir from the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints (April), Larry Jessup (May), Rezpect Dance Academy (June), Manaea Matanga from Peterhead School, Rahera Heke from Irongate School, Yvonne Kenare from Flaxmere College, April Vaima from Kimi Ora Community School and Grace Kelly from Flaxmere Primary School (July), Prima Volta (August), Damon Harvey (September), Hawkes Bay Correction Officers (October), Flaxmere Boxing Academy (November), and Tivaini Fomai (December).