Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc Wins Community Award

Media Release, for immediate release, 18 March 2006

KIHIKIHI WAIKATO EVENTING INC WINS TRUSTPOWER NATIONAL COMMUNITY AWARD

Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc has been names Supreme Winner at the prestigious TrustPower National Community Awards.

The Awards were announced tonight (Saturday 18 March) at the 2005 TrustPower National Community Awards Dinner, held at Shantytown on the West Coast.

The Runner-Up was the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, representing the Taupo District.

The announcement comes after a full day for the 21 teams participating in the TrustPower National Community Awards. Today, they each had to give a ten minute presentation on their activities or project in a presentation and judging session held at the Kingsgate Hotel in Greymouth.

Kihikihi Waikato Eventing’s presentation included a PowerPoint presentation and a speech by members Robyn North and John Nicholson as well Waipa District Mayor Alan Livingston.

As TrustPower National Community Award Supreme Winner, Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc takes home a trophy, a framed certificate and $2,500. The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge receives a framed certificate and $1,000.

TrustPower Community Relations Manager Graeme Purches says while on the surface it may seem that Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc is simply a sporting organisation, the reality is that it is an organisation that has made a significant difference to the entire community, through the creation of new and improved facilities that are available to and used by all.

“TrustPower is delighted to once again play a key role in recognising the contribution made by volunteers to New Zealand communities. All 21 groups participating in the Awards had already won recognition in their regions and we are delighted to have been able to showcase their efforts nationally at this weekend’s event,” says Mr Purches.

The Awards were judged by a panel of independent judges, including North & South Deputy Editor Jenny Chamberlain and representatives from Volunteering New Zealand, along with the 21 voluntary groups at the Awards. Each of the groups had one vote, with the peer voting making up 50% of the final judging score and the independent judging panel’s votes making up the other 50%.

The judges’ comments about Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc included:

• “An inspiration”
•
• “True community spirit”
•
• “Total community approach”

•

The TrustPower National Community Awards were held during Volunteering New Zealand’s Volunteer Awareness Week.

Please find below background information about the TrustPower Community Awards and National Community Awards.

For more information, interviews with the winners or photos of Kihikihi Waikato Eventing Inc accepting the TrustPower National Community Award, please call Rebecca James or Graeme Purches.

********

TrustPower National Community Awards - Background

Over the last eleven years the TrustPower Community Awards have grown into one of the country’s largest volunteer-based Awards programmes.

Thanks to the TrustPower Community Awards, thousands of volunteers have been recognised and more than quarter of a million dollars has been injected into community groups up and down the country.

The TrustPower Community Awards were initially set up with the Western Bay District Council eleven years ago, when TrustPower became a listed company.

Since then, TrustPower has established Community Awards in cities and districts right around the country, as a way of giving something back to its customers and their community.

Today, the TrustPower Community Awards are run in 21 districts around the country, in conjunction with local district or city Councils, recognising and rewarding volunteers for the valuable contribution they make to their community.

Any voluntary group or volunteer-based not-for-profit organisation is eligible for the Awards, which recognise past achievements or work undertaken by volunteers over the previous 12 months.

In 2000, TrustPower initiated the National Community Awards, where the Supreme Winners from the regional Awards share ideas and experiences and compete for the title of Supreme National Community Award Winner.

National Awards

The TrustPower National Community Awards are attended by representatives from each of the organisations judged Supreme Winner at their regional Awards, along with their region’s Mayor and his or her partner.

Each regional team compiles a 10 minute presentation on their group or organisation and its achievements. The teams themselves then vote for the group they think deserves the title of Supreme National Community Award Winner, along with a panel of independent judges.

The TrustPower National Community Award Supreme Winner receives $2,500, a framed certificate and a trophy, with the Runner-Up receiving $1,000 and a framed certificate.

Although all organisations at the National Awards would love to take home the big prize, the Awards are about more than money and titles. They are about giving organisations time out, the opportunity to socialise and network with other similar groups and the chance to share ideas and experiences in a relaxed environment.

There have been many examples of this networking resulting in ideas from one end of the country being established as successful projects in another region!

Past National Award Winners

2000: CACTUS (Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit & Support)

Westland District

2001: The Otangarei Youth Sports & Recreation Trust

Whangarei

2002: Te Puna Quarry Park Society Inc.

Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty District

2003: Palmerston Gateway to Gold Charitable Trust

Waihemo District

2004: Friends of Dunstan Hospital
Central Otago District

ENDS