The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Local heroes of Hawke's Bay rewarded for community service

By Louise Gould
Hawkes Bay Today·
27 Jan, 2021 12:09 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Poppy Renton, who set up the Hawke's Bay Drought Facebook page has been awarded with a Local Hero medal. Photo / Supplied

Poppy Renton, who set up the Hawke's Bay Drought Facebook page has been awarded with a Local Hero medal. Photo / Supplied

Kiwibank's Local Hero of the Year Awards has been announced and seven Hawke's Bay people have been confirmed as medallists.

The Local Hero of the Year Award (LHYA) recognises everyday people doing extraordinary things in their local communities over the past year.

A total of 100 New Zealander's received medals for their dedication to making their communities a better place.

This year's winner was Auckland's Everybody Eats founder Nick Loosley.

Through his charity, Loosley has saved more than 30 tonnes of good food from going into landfills and provided more than 30,000 restaurant-quality meals to people - most of whom could not afford to pay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Sir Graeme Avery was one of seven Hawke's Bay local Local Hero of the Year Awards medallists. Photo / Warren Buckland
Sir Graeme Avery was one of seven Hawke's Bay local Local Hero of the Year Awards medallists. Photo / Warren Buckland

The seven Hawke's Bay local hero medallists are Sir Graeme Avery, Poppy Renton, Pauline Mackie, Neen Kennedy, Lynn Cross, Warren Brown and Rebecca Clarke.

Businessman and philanthropist Sir Graeme Avery, 79, was nominated for the LHYA because of his career-long services to health, fitness, food and wellbeing which has seen him in myriad transformational community roles.

Poppy Renton set up The Hawke's Bay Drought Facebook page in 2020 to help farmer's deal with last year's drought and the lasting effects that harsh weather has on the rural community.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 19-year-old's page, which has more than 5700 members, has connected farmers with each other and the wider community - offering help to those in need, organising feed runs and messages of encouragement.

CHB locals Pauline Mackie and Lynn Cross were awarded medals because of their dedication to their communities, both have also received CHB District Council Civic Awards.

Neen Kennedy is famous around Waipukurau for being mad about recycling and is the founder of website Sustainable Ewe.

The website is devoted to sustainable living in CHB - she recently converted her garage into a dedicated Sustainable Ewe space.

Warren Brown was nominated for the LHYA for the support he gives through bereavement organisation STAROS, which he co-founded.

STAROS supports those who have lost a child or other loved one to suicide.

Rebecca Clark's career in education and passion for improving education in her Wairoa community has gained her a LHYA nomination and medal.

Despite having her first child at 14, Clark finished school and gained a degree while raising her two children and is now a mentor for young Māori women in her region.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'Lunacy': Farmers fight cuts to Taranaki agriculture courses

The Country

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

Premium
The Country

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'Lunacy': Farmers fight cuts to Taranaki agriculture courses
The Country

'Lunacy': Farmers fight cuts to Taranaki agriculture courses

WITT plans to scrap agriculture courses, worrying the Taranaki farming community.

16 Jul 10:23 PM
Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit
The Country

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

16 Jul 09:04 PM
Premium
Premium
More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'
The Country

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'

16 Jul 08:54 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP