St John honours four Rotorua officers

For Darryl Stretch, Norman Reidinger, Gary Timms and Ross Burns, no two days are the same.
The four Rotorua men are St John Ambulance staff and sorting out emergency situations is nothing out of the ordinary.
Now St John has honoured the men for their service.
Mr Stretch was promoted to officer while Mr Reidinger, Mr Timms and Mr Burns were all made members of the Order of St John at a special ceremony in Wellington, receiving their awards from the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand.
Mr Timms said when officers weren't out on calls, they were at the station, cleaning the vehicles and re-stocking equipment.
"One day is never the same as the other - you just never know what to expect," he said.
Although honoured to be recognised the four said their awards would not change anything.
"We're no different since being recognised, we'll just carry on doing what we've always done, helping the community and saving lives," said Mr Timms, who has been actively involved with the Rotorua St Johns service for more than 30 years.
He said the Governor-General was one of the nicest people he had met. "It was a real privilege to be in his presence. He spoke beautifully and made us all feel very welcome," he said.
The ambulance staff, who work by roster, have five vehicles.
Mr Stretch, who has also been actively involved with St John for more than 30 years, said he was in no hurry to leave. "It was a personal honour to be recognised for our efforts by our peers."
Mr Burns, a business owner with interests in New Zealand and Australia, brings vast knowledge to the table and has proved to be beneficial to decision making of the area committee in Rotorua.
He was elected chairman in 2008 and under his leadership the Area Committee has completed and advanced several major local initiatives and increased the public profile of St John in the district.
Mr Reidinger was a volunteer ambulance and events officer in the Tauranga area for 14 years. He rejoined in 2008 as a volunteer officer before accepting a full-time position as district operations manager based in Rotorua.
St John is one of New Zealand's larger charitable bodies and the main provider of ambulance, emergency care and community care services. It relies heavily on volunteers and the public's financial support to provide these services.
St John has its own honours system. It awards membership of the Order of St John to individuals who have carried out to a particularly high standard its mission to prevent and relieve sickness and injury and to act to enhance people's health and wellbeing.