Manawatu District Community Honours Awards

Manawatu District Mayor Ian McKelvie presented four Manawatu District Community Honours Awards at a ceremony in Feilding last night.
The annual council-sponsored awards recognise significant contributions to the community by individuals or groups and nominees must have carried out meritorious service in the fields of community service, welfare, sport, culture, the arts, recreation or education.


The awards were initiated in 1991 and 53 district residents have now been honoured.

This year’s recipients are Jacob (Jac) Bos, Ruth Dalzell and Neil Finch and Derek Tuck.
Jacob (Jac) Bos


Retired dairy farmer, Jacob (Jac) Bos, has been associated with the Kairanga community for more than 40 years, and his dedicated service to different organisations in the area have provided significant benefits both locally and nationally.


He began his community service in 1967 when appointed Scout Leader of the Kairanga Scout Troop, a position he held for 25 years. In that time, troop numbers continued to grow due to Jac’s strong leadership, enthusiasm for the boys’ welfare and development, and love of the outdoors.

He also became involved in many other scouting activities, including the demanding role of Sub Camp Leader at the 1983 International Jamboree in Feilding.


Jac’s on-going link with the Lions Club of Kairanga now covers 34 years, after becoming a Charter Member in 1973, and he is one of only two members to hold the position of District Governor. He has been New Zealand’s representative at two International Conventions and his work with Lions International has been recognised with its highest award, a Melvin Jones Fellow for dedicated humanitarian services.


Not only has Jac been involved with all the club’s fund-raising activities and social events, but was the instigator of four important projects - two of which are still active today. He was responsible for the annual fireworks displays at Kairanga School in the 1980s, an event that has become one of the biggest attractions in Manawatu and is now held at Manfeild. He was also responsible for initiating the annual senior citizens function each December in the Kairanga Hall.


Jac’s “personal baby”, however, was the refurbishment of a dilapidated building at the Outdoor Pursuits Centre at Taurewa, National Park, in the late 1980s. Many thousands of hours were spent by numerous volunteers from Lions Clubs throughout the North Island to restore the neglected facility. Jac was appointed to the Outdoor Pursuits Trust and later awarded life membership. His fourth successful project centred on the collection of pongas from a Shannon farm and selling them to garden centres.


The Kairanga Hall Committee has also benefitted from Jac’s unstinted devotion for many years. He is the current treasurer and was involved with many fund-raising activities when the hall was enlarged.


Jac is also noted for establishing the Breathe Easy Support Group for Manawatu asthma sufferers in the mid-1990s. He regularly gives advice, encouragement and counselling to those in need and set up a similar group in Levin earlier this year. He was awarded the Governor General’s Asthma and Respiratory Activities Award in 2003 in recognition of this work.


Ruth Dalzell




A dedicated and energetic worker for organisations like St John, Victim Support, Literacy Feilding and the Manawatu Road Safety Committee, Ruth Dalzell’s community service is exemplary and she consistently demonstrates amazing outcomes for those with whom she is involved.


For 23 years she has been a stalwart of St John in Feilding after joining the service when her eldest son invested in an old motocross bike so he could learn to ride. After gaining her First Aid certificate, Ruth later passed initial and advanced patient care courses before earning her elementary and proficiency ambulance officer grades. Her ability to stay calm and care for patients at a time of great stress has been a hallmark of her contribution in this most demanding role.


Ruth relinquished her duties as an ambulance officer in 2005, after 21 years’ services, but continues her St John involvement as a member of the Feilding Area Committee, where she provided significant input into planning the refurbishment of the organisation’s current premises. She was invested as a Serving Sister of the Order of St John in 2002.


Ruth joined Victim Support as a volunteer in 1999 and is an integral and invaluable member of the organisation, delivering timely services to victims of crime and trauma and offering support to those in crisis. A caring, non-judgmental and practical person, she also provides guidance and direction as a Victim Support Team Leader and is currently mentoring a team of seven volunteers.


The Manawatu Road Safety Committee also benefitted from Ruth’s active participation after she joined the group in the late 1980s as the St John representative. She was committee secretary for more than five years, contributed many worthwhile suggestions and took a hands-on approach to the group’s involvement in displays and public activities.


As a Literacy Feilding Co-ordinator, Ruth is noted for supporting learners, ex-learners and volunteer tutors in all sorts of ways - encouraging them to reach their full potential, helping them to move their lives forward and taking on a supporting role in a time of crisis. This often happens in her own time and at her own expense.

Neil Finch and Derek Tuck


Arohanui Hospice is deeply indebted to the tireless work undertaken over the last 13 years by retired stock agents, Neil Finch and Derek Tuck, who have raised more than $1.2 million for the facility through the Hospice Beef Scheme.


Neil and Derek started co-ordinating the scheme in 1994, whereby farmers throughout the greater Manawatu District provide free grazing for young cattle, which are then sold after 12 to 18 months and the profit returned to Arohanui Hospice.


After personally selecting and buying the cattle on the hospice’s behalf, at the right price, Neil and Derek arrange transportation of the animals to the correct farm, their eventual slaughter and the channelling of profits to the hospice. They also complete the paperwork for each animal, documenting the required information. All of this work is carried out on a voluntary basis.


It’s a year-round scheme, encompassing many hundreds of hours, as cattle are constantly bought and sold, and has proved to be a tremendous success because of the knowledge and expertise constantly demonstrated by Neil and Derek. Up to 300 farmers are involved in the scheme each year.


The scheme has been the Arohanui Hospice’s biggest fund-raiser and contributed greatly to the building extensions that were opened by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, in September 2006. Those extensions have greatly improved the environment for the hospice’s terminally ill patients and their families, staff and volunteers.


It is only through such community-minded people as Neil and Derek that Arohanui Hospice is able to provide quality care at no charge to more than 550 patients, many of whom live in the Manawatu District, each year. The dedicated work and support shown by Neil and Derek over so many years has been a huge undertaking.