The 18th Ashburton District Council Community Awards were staged last week, recognising some of the district’s biggest contributors.
Hinds farmer Peter Lowe received the Mayor’s Award for Public Service, the Ashburton RSA received the Ashburton Medal and Robert Maxwell, of Methven, received a Civic Award.
Mayor Neil Brown said it had been a privilege reading through the work and achievements of all three recipients.
“Peter has been involved in a range of volunteer work, from school boards of trustees to environmental work, and some of it quite challenging.
“It was an honour to present him the Mayor’s Award for Public Service, because he has truly worked hard on behalf of the whole district for more than 40 years,’’ Brown said.
Numerous people had benefited from his volunteer work. He was loyal, honest, and a sound thinker. Whatever the role, he had been in it for the right reasons and never for his own ego.
Peter said it was tremendous to receive the award, especially from the Mayor.
Brown said Robert had recently been involved in protecting a slice of Methven history.
This was through his work with the Methven Lions and cleaning up old headstones in the Methven cemetery. He had cleaned nearly every headstone in the Methven Cemetery over the past three years.
The retired farmer once lived at the base of Mt Hutt, but he now lives at Methven House.
He has been a member of the Methven Lions since 1986, and when the club began talking about a project to clean up old gravestones at the cemetery, Robert led the charge.
He was hardworking, humble, gracious, kind and thoughtful – one of Methven’s unsung heroes, Brown said.
‘‘It is a privilege to receive the award. It’s an acknowledgement of the wee bit I have done,’’ Robert said.
Brown said the Ashburton RSA had undertaken important work for war veterans and the wider community for more than 100 years.
Like many other small towns in New Zealand, Ashburton’s Returned Services Association was established after World War One.
It had had to reinvent itself in modern times.
Today, it is proudly among the few RSAs remaining with a physical location.
It supports 144 returned service people and veterans, as well as assisting the Ashburton Cadet Unit.
Members now range from teenagers, right through to those in their 90s.
“Our district runs with the help of many volunteers and many seek to avoid the limelight. It’s special to be able to acknowledge their work on occasions like this,” Brown said.
RSA president Merv Brenton said it was huge honour to receive the award and something the organisation would always be proud of.
