Two kiwi battlers named in Morgan Foundation award

Two people have been named winners last night out of 400 nominations for the Morgan Foundation's awards celebrating people who are heroes in their communities.
Josh South from Timaru and Andrew Walkin from Wellington have both won the National KiwiBattler award.
Mr Walkin and Mr South will win $2000 each, and $10,000 each for their chosen charities -- Child Cancer Foundation of Canterbury and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand respectively.
An additional $154,000 will be donated to the 14 regional winners -- including the two national winners -- and their chosen charities. In total, 30,000 public votes were received for the award.
``Our charitable work is mostly focused overseas, but there are so many unsung, hard-working heroes here in New Zealand,'' Morgan Foundation's Gareth Morgan said.
''`Too hard' isn't something I say much, but picking just one of these battlers to win the national prize was too hard so we picked two. They have both overcome significant odds to make absolutely outstanding contributions to their communities.''
Mr South works with disabled children and young people, and is active in the Child Cancer Foundation.
Mr Walkin, who has cystic fibrosis, coaches junior cricket players and is a mentor and supporter for others with cystic fibrosis. He is also involved in setting up a charity to support up-and-coming junior cricket players.
The selection panel comprised Mr Morgan, his wife, Jo Morgan, and Police Commissioner Howard Broad.
Mr Broad said the competition was a chance to acknowledge people working hard to make a difference in their communities.
``It was really gratifying to see that the kiwi battler spirit is alive and well in the cities and smaller communities across the country.''