Queen's Service Medal recipient Bill Rossiter has spent a lifetime serving his community. Photo/John Stone
Queen's Service Medal recipient Bill Rossiter has spent a lifetime serving his community. Photo/John Stone
Bill Rossiter is likely to take some time out today to reflect on being awarded a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the community.
It'll have to be today as he's been too busy over the weekend for it to sink inas, in typical fashion, he was helping out at the NZ Association of Women in Aviation's annual rally in Dargaville.
"I was very humbled (to receive the honour) and proud that people thought I was good enough to get one. It's a big honour, but there are many other people I've worked with that deserve it just as much. You can only be as good as the people you work with and I've been lucky to work with some very good people," he said.
Mr Rossiter's has contributed to the Whangarei community, especially road safety, for more than 50 years, including 15 years as a Northland Regional Councillor and three as a Whangarei District Councillor.
He has been a member of the Northland Chamber of Commerce, the Northland Road Safety Association, ran a driver signalling campaign for motorists to use their indicators and was founder of a four-year cycle helmet wearing campaign. Mr Rossiter was appointed Northland Road Safety Co-ordinator in 1995 until 2002 where he successfully campaigned for several road improvements in the region which reduced fatalities.
He has chaired the NRC's Land Transport Committee, contributed 21 years of service to St Johns as first aid instructor and ambulance driver and has also been involved in the Maunu Children's Health Camp, Diabetes Northland, Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, Whangarei Rotary Club and the RSA.
But his proudest achievement was working with 63 marae and a number of community groups across Northland in the early 1990s on a campaign to get unlicensed drivers to pass their driving test.
Mr Rossiter was awarded the Ministry of Transport Award for Road Safety in 1992 for his road safety work and the Whangarei District Council Civic Award the same year.
