Local Heroes receive their medals

TAKE A BOW: Local heroes.

Fifteen Northlanders have been honoured with Local Heroes medals as part of the lead-up to next year's New Zealander of the Year awards.

The medals were presented at Forum North in Whangarei on Monday night by Far North deputy Mayor Tania McInnes, who said the recipients' selflessness had had a profound effect on the lives of many others.

"Those acts of charity, optimism and commitment are what hold a community together, and as a community we must stand alongside one another and give thanks for their efforts," she said.

The recipients were Alison and Donald Sargent (Whangarei), Bobbi Jo Crane (Whangarei), Annette Roberts (Paihia), Trevor McKenzie (Waipu), Delecia (Maxi) Thompson (Onerahi), Brian Attwood (Whangarei), Grant Harnish, Heinz Marti, Bruce Gordon, Greg Jones, Trevor Grass and Vern Witehira (Focus Paihia's Hard Core Crew), Kelly van Gaalen (Kaikohe) and Tony Scott (Pakaraka).

A total of 201 medals will be presented nationwide this year, with a judging panel due to announce the 10 Kiwibank Local Heroes semi-finalists this month. The list will be further whittled down to three finalists in the New Year, with the overall winner due to be named at the New Zealander of the Year awards in February.

The current New Zealander of the Year is Kaitaia GP Lance O'Sullivan.

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Grant Harnish, Heinz Marti, Bruce Gordon, Greg Jones, Trevor Grass and Vern Witehira (Focus Paihia Hard Core Crew) are the driving force behind Horotutu Our Place, a community-funded and -built waterfront park. Grant is the current chairman of the Focus Paihia Community Trust; Heinz, chairman of the Community Patrol and Cruise Ship Committee, created the odd-job crew and saw the project through from the first idea to completion; Vern, the town custodian, has taken his role to the next level, cleaning up Paihia and setting up a Community Net group to offer townsfolk extra support. Supplying both his digger and his truck, Bruce played a major role in the construction of Horotutu; Greg built the park's 16 wave seats; and Trevor was charged with the electrical work at the park, including an impressive lighting set-up to showcase the park day and night.

Annette Roberts gives up to 60 hours every month as a volunteer in the community. She was one of the founding members of the Paihia Community Patrol and is an active volunteer at the Paihia police station. She is also involved in the fire brigade, chairs the Friends of Williams House, a group supporting the local library, and collects wool and postcards for charity. Annette and her husband have been making the round trip to Auckland to donate blood every six weeks for the past 45 years.

Kelly van Gaalen, who chairs the Kaikohe Community Arts Council, is a member of the Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board and promotions co-ordinator for the Kaikohe Business Association, has been responsible for a number of major beautification projects in Kaikohe. She has also helped develop a number of events such as Sculpture in the Vines and the creation of Santa's Grotto.

Her latest project was to install planter boxes and seats around the town. In her role as community board member, she was instrumental in developing the Monument Hill gardens.

Tony Scott (Pakaraka), although based in the Far North, has been a member of the Auckland Airport Rescue Fire Service for 22 years. He is a dedicated fundraiser, event organiser, and the man behind the Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge. Tony's idea to race up the tower's 1103 steps was first pitched 10 years ago. In 2005 the event raised $17,500 for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand; this year 700 firefighters took part, raising $915,000. Tony hopes to raise more than $1 million next year.