Like many of those who have received recognition over the years, Mr Beatson is a believer in the power of education. He says he was blessed in terms of the education he received, and is as keen now as he's ever been to do what he can to see that some of today's younger generation get the same opportunities that were presented to him.
This is a very different world to the one he grew up in, but some things haven't changed. A sound education, and the imagination and desire to make use of that education to open doors, are still the major prerequisites to a happy and fulfilled adulthood. And when it comes to giving others the opportunities that he enjoyed all those years ago he has spared no effort. He's done the mundane, serving on PTAs and school boards, he's given his time and skills to Cubs and Scouts, he's actively supported the likes of Special Olympics, CanTeen, Project K and Outward Bound, and he has devoted half a century to Rotary, which has enabled him to augment the education of children who might otherwise have missed out.
Mr Beatson has lived in Auckland for 34 years but still counts himself as a Far Northerner, and has done a great deal to benefit Far North students who don't always have access to the same resources as their urban counterparts. He helped provide computers for Taipa Area School, he was involved in establishing an e-learning centre at Te Hapua, and he's helped raised the money needed to ensure that some very talented Far North children could accept the opportunity they earned to represent New Zealand in future problem solving in the United States.
More recently he led the project to restore Kaitaia's WWI memorial, in time for the centennial of its original unveiling in March 1916.
Pare Nathan's devotion to her community has also focused on education, and a passion for the preservation of Maori culture, not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing part of the Far North way of life, and beyond. Her career as a teacher was never just a means of earning a living; her passion for sharing her knowledge and skills with others has earned her well deserved national recognition.
Mrs Nathan says she has always enjoyed working with people, nurturing children, and thriving on the challenge of improving "our people our way."
Enjoyment is the key. Neither she nor Mr Beatson are driven by some sense of duty. They do what they do because they see a need, but above all they enjoy giving of themselves to others. Perhaps this is just the way things were done when Mr Beatson was a boy, but many others are following his and Mrs Nathan's example today. For giving on a grand scale, look at the Transpower community awards. Whatever the explanation they have done themselves, their families, their community and their country proud, and are eminently deserving of our gratitude.
Then there are the will nots, those who have succumbed to the sense of entitlement that threatens to drag us all down, and who blame everyone but themselves for their particular predicament. They need very little encouragement to air their grievances, some doing so again last week in response to news that a second student loan defaulter had been arrested as she tried to leave the country.
The media love these stories, especially when they throw up someone like the woman now living in Australia who bleated that she had become an exile. She was reportedly one of "several" who now feared they would be arrested if they ever came home, thanks to a $6500 loan she had taken out 21 years ago while she pursued (but did not complete) a social sciences qualification.
She got pregnant, and after five years as a solo mother she moved to Australia. In the 21 years that followed she had never thought about her student loan. She now owed $30,000.
She was quoted last week as saying that if she had the chance to pay the $6500 she would take it "in a heartbeat." Pity she didn't think about that at some point before discovering that ignoring the debt would have consequences. But now she has become the victim. She says she will never be able to repay $30,000. She says telling her family that she can't return to New Zealand for a tangi is shameful. She wonders how she will pay her mortgage in Australia and what will become of her children if she comes home and is arrested.
What she doesn't acknowledge is IRD's constant emphasis that all it wants from defaulters is some sort of plan to pay back what they owe. It has repeatedly said that those who commit to a payment plan will not be arrested, that being a "truly" last resort aimed at those who deliberately avoid contact and their obligations. Can't be much clearer than that.
The Aussie exile isn't without friends though. NZUSA president Linsey Higgins was dismayed by the "draconian" measures being taken to recoup unpaid loans. Such harsh techniques would breed fear and force people never to return, damaging New Zealand's reputation.
For the record, about 112,000 student loan borrowers currently live overseas, around 70 per cent of them being in default. About 20 are on IRD's radar as liable to arrest should they come home. Nothing like a bit of perspective.
Student loan defaulters no doubt know what would happen if they didn't repay any other form of debt - mortgage, bank loan, credit card. They now know what might happen if they don't make some effort to repay their student loans.
They might also consider how their lives might be enriched if they weren't so selfish. If they were to become wills rather than will nots. If they were to follow the examples of the Ray Beatsons and Pare Nathans among us. If they thought about someone other than themselves for a change.
