Hawke's Bay Civil Defence and Emergency Management Years of service recognised

Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi (left) with award recipients Andrew Black, Noel Lucas, Bob Sanderson and Lisa Pearse. Photo/Supplied.

Four Hawke's Bay people have been recognised for their years of service to Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) in the region.

Lisa Pearse (Hawke's Bay CDEM Group), Bob Sanderson (volunteer), Noel Lucas (volunteer), and Andrew Black (volunteer) were presented with long service awards by the Minister of Civil Defence, Kris Faafoi at a special ceremony in Napier yesterday.

Lisa Pearse – Hawke's Bay CDEM Group
Hawke's Bay CDEM Group Emergency Management Advisor for Hazard Reduction Lisa Pearse received the 10 and 20 years long service awards, having been with the group since its establishment in 2002.

She is highly respected nationally in the field of hazard research and risk reduction, being a member of a number of national hazard advisory groups and instrumental in developing national and regional risk reduction strategies for tsunami and other hazards, which result from the Hikurangi Trough off the East Coast.

Lisa has also managed and coordinated hazard research across the Councils in Hawke's Bay, work that is now seen as being best practice across New Zealand. She also takes an active role in the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's oil spill response capability and is a member of the Maritime NZ national response team.

Lisa has assisted with the response to a number of major emergencies across New Zealand including the Jody F Millennium grounding and oil spill in Gisborne, the Rena grounding and oil spill in the Bay of Plenty, the Canterbury Earthquakes and more recently the Kaikoura earthquake.

Bob Sanderson - volunteer
Bob Sanderson has received the 20 and 30 years long service awards for his work as a Civil Defence Emergency Management volunteer.

He has served in both the Napier and Hastings Civil Defence teams and has been a member of the Havelock North Civil Defence team for the last 12 years, where he initially had the role as the team leader.

Bob has been involved in the response to a number of civil defence events, including major floods in Invercargill back in the 1970's and more recently some of the major road evacuations due to vehicles trapped in snow on the Napier-Taupo Road.

Noel Lucas - volunteer
Noel Lucas has been presented the 20 and 30 years long service awards for his work as a Civil Defence Emergency Management volunteer.

He has shown a huge commitment as a volunteer to Hawke's Bay CDEM and Hastings Rural Fire Emergency Management.

As a volunteer Noel has provided weekly support to Emergency Management Officers, including supporting their response to a number of events over the years, such as the recent Havelock North Fires.

Andrew Black - volunteer
Andrew Black received two awards.

The first for 20 years long service as a volunteer to Hawke's Bay CDEM, most recently as the Team Leader of the Hawke's Bay Emergency Response Team.

Andrew is committed to the ongoing development of the Hawke's Bay Emergency Response Team and in this role has supported the response to a number of events across Hawke's Bay. He also assisted the national response during the Canterbury Earthquakes.

The second award is from Hastings District Council for "Outstanding Contribution to Community Preparedness" as Team Leader for the Hawke's Bay Emergency Response Team and his work in re-establishing this team over the last 12 months.