2012 Kiwibank Local Heroes Medal Recipients 

for Manukau

Medal Presentation PHOTOGRAPHS click here 

Grant Andrews of Waiuku

As a volunteer for the Awhitu Fire Service for 21 years, Grant has dedicated over half his life to this cause. The closest hospital to Awhitu is over two hours away and closest ambulance 30 minutes away so the community relies on the Fire Service for medical services as well as Fire services. Call outs can come at any time of the day and night and can range from a farmer needing help pulling his truck out of the mud to an elderly person wanting their blood pressure checked. Grant not only dedicates hundreds of hours to call outs and training but he also organises community meetings and creates a local newsletter to keep everyone up to date.

Rufo Pupualii of East Tamaki

Among her large family and work commitments Rutho represents the Otara community by being a member of the Mayfield School Board. She also represents the Samoan community by speaking at meetings and encouraging members of the community to give up smoking and gambling. Rutho always puts other before herself and is working hard to help her community in a variety of ways.

Nu’uese Scott Tanuvasa of Otara, Manukau

Scott’s large commitment to Mayfield School has earned him a Local Heroes medal. As a father of eight young children it is amazing that he still find the time to give so much back. Scott is the Chairman of Mayfield’s School Board of Trustees and is involved with a vast range of school activities. Every morning and afternoon he takes the Walking School Bus, parking his car 2.5km away from the school and picking up children along the walk. He coaches both the boys and girls rugby and league teams, leading the Girls Rugby team to win their Championships. Scott is also heavily involved with the Samoan Community, supporting a network of almost 50 parents.

Bruce Pulman of Drury

Bruce has been an inspiration to many aspiring athletes in the Counties Manukau region of Auckland. In a unique initiative Bruce set up the ‘Bruce Pulman Park Trust’ to lease park land from the council in order to provide improvements and amenities. The provision of the land, facilities and scholarships is offering opportunities for locals to becomes heroes in their own right, encouraging them to excel in their passion be it sport, academic or service to their community. The vision of Bruce and his trust is: “For all people in the Counties Manukau region to have access to the highest quality of passive, recreational and competitive sport facilities and to improve general fitness, well being and pride of all its people”.

Tina Taylor of Waiuku

Tina and her husband already have their hands full with four children of their own and two grandchildren but this doesn’t stop them playing a massive part in their community by opening up their homes for children in need. They have fostered and adopted a large number of children over the last seven years including adopting three little boys and fostering families of five children at one time. Tina has at least five children under the age of three living with her at any one time resulting in many a sleepless night! Thanks to Tina’s generous heart many children around New Zealand have been put into a kind and loving home, a place so many of them have never experienced before.

Jim Watson of Papatoetoe

Jim’s life has always been about the community. He spent 40 years with the Boys Brigade, taking on leadership roles at both a local and regional level. He has been a lay preacher at the Wesley Methodist Church for 50 years, taking bible classes, organising working bees and he now organises the renting of the church hall for private functions. He has built homes for people through Habitat for Humanity, and has opened his own home to those needing accommodation. He is also on the Neighbourhood support group, delivers Meals on Wheels, helps with the Food Bank and once a month takes cancer patients from their homes for treatment at Middlemore hospital. While he’s there he helps to push patients in chairs or hospital beds to services in the chapel. Wesley Church members describe his “goodwill and strength as a vital part of the church”, this “overflows into the community as he continues to make a difference in whatever way he can”.

Jacqueline Simpson of Waiuku

Jacqui has a large involvement with the Waiuku community, being actively involved with View Road Primary School, Waiuku Girl guiding and Kohekohe Junior Hockey. Jacqui is a member of View Road Primary School’s PTA dedicating numerous voluntary hours to events, school camps, transportation, Gala days, fundraising activities and to organising the first school soccer team. Jacqui is also the district treasurer for the Waiuku Girl Guides and has been for nearly 5 years. She became involved when her daughter joined Brownies and continued her commitment even after her daughter was no longer involved. Jacqui is considered a valued and essential member of the Waiuku Girl Guides team. In addition to this she also manages the Kohekohe Junior Hockey teams and has coordinated various junior fundraising events. She coordinates six junior hockey teams and manages two of these, never missing training and spending many hours on the side of the playing field. Jacqui is always concerned over the player’s welfare and is ready with positive words of encouragement. Jacqui is an everyday, hardworking kiwi, who gives so much of herself to others and expects nothing in return.

Grace van den Brink of Waiuku

Grace quietly supports the Waiuku community in many ways. Setting up a mother and toddlers group that runs every morning in the Community Hall, Grace supports mothers emotionally and physically. She helps them with budgeting, food supplies, clothing and toys for their children. She also runs a weekly playgroup at the Church hall at no cost and during school holidays runs a holiday programme at a substantially discounted price to what it costs her to run. She helped start up the Rugby League Club, founded the community garden, operates the Furniture bank on behalf of Family Support and also runs Marama Hou Ministries and is a trustee of Waiuku Family Support. All of her work is voluntary; she is passionate about helping her community and does so with love and compassion.

Papaofo and Faasava Mataina Ta’ala of Mangere

Faasava  and Papaofa have been volunteers for the Manukau Pacific Islands Trust for over 10 years each. The trust is extremely grateful that they have always given their time and knowledge with a smile on their face and with no expectation of anything in return. They have often supplied their own resources and financial backing in order for some of the Trusts programmes to go ahead and have put many long hours in to their work. They have been involved with all aspects of the trust from working with parents to taking part in arts and craft with the elderly. Faasava  and Papaofa are well respected and valued members of the both the Manukau Pacific Island Trust and the wider Manukau community

Christine Ramsey of Port Waikato

Christine is an active member of the Port community, often being the first person called when someone is in need. As the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator she is constantly aware of issues in the community and on the lookout for others. Christine is the chairman for the local hall committee, initiating improvements and maintenance and organising a roster to look after the grounds. This provides a wonderful safe meeting point for the community. She organises community events such as a Queens Birthday dance and puts her hand up to help in any way possible, whether it is helping with wedding arrangements to helping a family move house. At Christmas times Christine lights up her house and section with lights, an absolute delight for the community. Christine is an exceptional and inspirational role model, and a much loved member of her community.

Jacqui Ritchie of Pukekohe

Jacqui is the founder of Bellyful NZ, an organisation helping mums with new born babies around New Zealand when they need it most – at dinner-time! Jacqui founded Bellyful in 2009 and has now gone on to establish nine branches around New Zealand with the goal of having a branch in every centre by 2016. Bellyful’s team of volunteers (generally also mums) deliver frozen, precooked meals to families with newborns and families struggling with illness, all at no cost.  Jacqui is an inspirational leader, volunteer and organiser. It is thanks to her hard work and determination that Bellyful has developed to have 120 volunteers nationwide and has made the lives of countless mums and families just that little bit easier.

Buck Stowers of Mangere

Buck’s success in helping sufferers of obesity regain control of their lives is having an incredible positive impact on the community of Manukau.  As owner and head trainer of Genetics Gym, Buck set up the Off the Couch Charitable Trust through which he runs the highly successful lifestyle-changing programme called Big Boys and Big Girls, for obese males and females respectively. The results and impacts of these programmes is evident from the many testimonies of past members, from the national coverage on programmes such as 20/20 as well as the fact that GPs and health practitioners are now referring their patients to the programme.  The off the couch initiative works on the individual, who in turn influences his or her family. Fitter and healthier families mean healthier and more productive communities, society and a nation. A prime example of how one man’s vision, hard work and dedication can influence a whole nation.

Buck Stowers is dyslexic, 47 years old. Buck was afraid of education because he fell through the system. Deemed a dummy Buck taught himself how to read. In his late 20s Buck read his first real book and it was only in his 40s he discovered that reading and writing with dyslexia can be achieved. Buck has directional problems due to his dyslexia where he cannot read a map or find his way from A to B. However these ongoing difficulties to comprehend written work made life more challenging, and Buck’s coined phrase “Your potential to success is governed by your commitment”. Buck’s commitment to run the biggest assault on Obesity is evidenced in his Obesity Addiction program. As the founder of “Off the couch” Trust; his Big Boys and Big Girls program delivered is delivered at Genetics Gym that Buck and Lucretia Stowers owns, in Manukau. 

Buck has broken most of the bones in his body and had 16 lower limb surgeries. Buck has permanent disabilities in his knees and has 12 pins in his ankle and knees…despite all this Buck Stowers has written an addiction programme to assist to heal the world. Buck has been featured on 20/20, Tagata Pasifika, TVNZ, Good morning show and local TV and radio programs for the work he does in community—for many people he is their ‘hero’.

LINKS

http://tvnz.co.nz/20-20-news/buck-s-big-club-14-54-video-4137438

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjEKJt_at7g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2F2xSe1_D4

http://www.stuff..co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/3720000/Big-Boys-hit-the-gym-and-give-their-all-to-lose-kilos

www.voxy.co.nz/sport/kaino-and-nfl-star-shine...sports.../115323