Allan Anderson has been nominated in the environmental category for his conservation work for the Bushy Park wildlife reserve. Photo / David Lupton
Allan Anderson has been nominated in the environmental category for his conservation work for the Bushy Park wildlife reserve. Photo / David Lupton
Wanganui has three contenders in the 2015 Pride of New Zealand Awards regional finals.
The awards, which celebrate unsung Kiwi heroes whose efforts make a significant difference in their communities, drew eight nominations from Wanganui.
Of those eight, Allan Anderson, Kelly Scarrow and Trudy Taylor have been put forward for the Lower North Island regional finals.
The Pride of New Zealand Awards, sponsored by The New Zealand Herald, The Hits radio station and TSB Bank, recognises Kiwi volunteers, campaigners, fundraisers, caregivers and those who go above and beyond for others and has six award categories: bravery & heroism; community spirit; fundraiser of the year; emergency services; environmental; and lifetime achievement.
Trudy Taylor, a regional finalist in the emergency services category, has worked her way up from volunteering to a career in management at St John.
She has been Wanganui St John station manager for two years. She joined as a volunteer ambulance officer in 1998, later becoming a paid officer working in Marton and Wanganui. She was nominated for a Pride of New Zealand award by a Red Cross team member, who cited her for "showing me everything I've needed to know".
"She's like a camp mother to every one in our team. She's always smiling and laughing [and] she's inspired me to aim further in life aim ... for my big goals and objectives, not just my little ones."
Allan Anderson has been nominated in the environmental category for his conservation work for the Bushy Park wildlife reserve, particularly his fundraising efforts for the bird sanctuary.
He started volunteering at Bushy Park through Forest and Bird in 1962, serving 12 years as chairman of the Bushy Park Trust, and believes he has been a member of Forest and Bird longer than anyone in New Zealand.
The Whanganui District Health Board member and former district councillor was nominated for an award for being "the driving force in the creation of one of New Zealand's premier fenced sanctuaries for rare native birds".
His work includes the building of the pest-proof fence that now rings the park. "Allan single-handedly raised the $1 million, which saw the project opened on time, within budget and paid for," his nominator noted.
Gonville librarian Kelly Scarrow's passion for knitting, books and charity has made her a regional finalist in the community spirit category. She runs several book clubs and a knitting group that has donated countless items to charity, including scarves and slippers for schoolkids and blankets for Plunket.
Her nomination said: "If it were not for Kelly Scarrow there would still be a lot of needy kids in this city and people like me would not have the opportunity to meet others of a similar age and like-minded pursuits."
Librarian and knitting supremo Kelly Scarrow.
The regional judging panel was made up of Silver Fern netballer Maria Tutaia, ecostore founder Malcolm Rands, Hospice New Zealand chief executive Mary Schumacher, the Weekend Herald and Herald on Sunday editor Miriyana Alexander and The Hits announcer Polly Gillespie.
Mr Rands commented: "One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a judge has been how inspirational these people are. I'm constantly humbled by the 'local heroes' who day in and day out perform selfless acts, just because it is the right thing to do."
Trudy Taylor.
Ms Schumacher added: "Seeing the huge variety of ways in which New Zealanders are contributing to their communities every day made the judging process extremely challenging but also very heart warming."
The overall national award winners will be selected from the regional finalists, while voting for the TSB Bank's People's Choice Award will commence on August 17.
The Pride of New Zealand Awards national finals ceremony is on September 16. Visit www.nzherald.co.nz/prideofnzawards to read nominees and finalists' stories. The Pride of New Zealand Awards can also be found on Facebook: PrideOfNZAwards and Twitter: @PrideOfNZ with people encouraged to Tweet using #prideofnz and #prideofnzawards.
