Barbara Timms lives to serve

Barbara Timms

"I have done my best for the community and believe my dad would be proud of me," said Levin's Barbara Timms, who has been awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to the community this Queen's Birthday.

"Dad always taught us that we needed to give back to the community that gave so much to us. He would say, 'you can do it ... just take your time.'"

Levin has been good to Mrs Timms and her family over the generations. Her father was a builder who built a lot of local buildings. And he passed his knowledge about property on to his daughter, expertise she had used over the years to help others improve their lives, individuals as well as groups and organisations, such as the Levin RSA.

A passionate Silver Fern fan, Mrs Timms umpired netball from 1962 and had the chance to attend six netball World Championships. Today she is the Horowhenua Netball's patron.

Since an horrific car crash put Mrs Timms in a wheelchair 34 years ago, she's done even more to pay back and share her skills with the community. Some would say she single-handed saved the RSA from going under.

She became involved with the RSA a few years ago when the organisation was in dire straits.

"It was clear early on that nothing was working and after three months we closed down the RSA and set up a new committee that operated the RSA as on a voluntary basis two to three days a week."

In 2015 Mrs Timms became the RSA's treasurer and dealt with banks and other creditors, sorting out finances. She worked hard at reducing the RSA's debt. Soon she also became the property's manager, a role she still fulfils.

Adopt An Anzac was something she got squarely behind as well as the red boxes at the Cenotaph, known as Poppy Box Plaza, raising funds and approaching families of local men who died in the wars whether they wanted to adopt a box and have their loved one's name put on one.

In 2013 she put much of her efforts into the field of crosses at the Cenotaph. Other projects include the Breathe Easy group, which grew from 20 to 80 members in the 11 years she's been involved with them.

"I was a bad asthmatic myself," she said.

She was instrumental in building the netball premises as well as the squash club facilities.
She knits for charity and pulled together a group of like-minded people who knit to raise funds for Kids Can or Barnados.

"You can do anything from a wheelchair," Mrs Timms said.

"But I could not have done all this work without the help of my son Paul and daughter Michelle. "They were 10 and 12 when the accident happened and they learned quickly that we needed to do things as a family.

"To this day they help me a lot."

"I am always ready to help people in need and help them do better." She has helped clubs and charities do their administration better.

Her experience as co-owner, with her husband, of Timms Flooring has been invaluable.
She retired in 2007 and has been busy sharing her expertise around.

The new Jack Allen Hub, part of the RSA building, is the perfect place for Contact Inc-affiliated originations, she said.

"We put a wall up to make it a separate building and development of the conference room space is next on the list of things to do." Born and bred in Levin she's driven to help the wider community make Levin a better place to live.

"I give help to others who need it, give advice to groups on how to run their associations better. Many need help with administration and property management.

"The Queen Service Medal is a great honour," she said.

"I couldn't have done it without the wider community."