Stratford District Council is pleased to announce 8 Stratford District community members will be presented with a Citizens Award in 2022.

District Mayor Neil Volzke says he is constantly impressed at the continued effort people put in to the wellbeing of the Stratford community.

The awards are an annual tradition that’s spanned over 30 years, inviting the community to share nominations for people that go that extra mile.

“Year on year we have nominations worthy of this acknowledgment, there’s no end to good community minded people here in the heart of Taranaki,” he says.

“We’re pleased to be able to award another Outstanding Citizen Award, the fourth ever presented and to have not one but two Youth Citizen Award recipients this year is awesome,” said Mayor Volzke.

The Stratford District Council Citizens Awards formally recognise individuals that give significant amounts of their time and energy to the community.

Friends and family are invited to attend the awards ceremony on Tuesday 2 August 5.30pm at the Function Facility, War Memorial Centre, Stratford.

Full interviews with the recipients will be shown on the night and shared on Council’s website and Facebook page post the event. More details about our 2022 recipients are available below.

The 2022 Stratford District Council Citizens Award recipients are:

Youth Citizen Awards: Keisya Gunawan, Abbey Sextus

Citizen Awards: Bruce Cleland, Walter Pease, Patsy Commerford and Tony (Baz) Gordon, Colin Jones (accepted by his family).

Outstanding Citizen Award: Ian Benefield

Keisya Gunawan – Youth Citizen Award

Keisya is a queen of extracurricular activities. Her academic track record shows only a small part of her capabilities, but when she says her favourite subject is chemistry because “everything binds together, maths, writing, it’s beautiful,” you know she’s serious about her studies!

An inspiring girl boss, her enthusiastic work ethic doesn’t stop when the bell rings at the end of the class. She holds a number of leadership roles at Stratford High School, including Chairperson of the Student Council, a committee she’s been involved in for the majority of her secondary school life. Keisya tells us this role covers everything from fundraising and spreading awareness of causes to event organisation.

She carries these skills over to the Stratford District Youth Council which she’s been a member of since 2018, currently holding the co-chair position. Her interests in local politics doesn’t stop at the Youth Council, she’s landed the role of Youth Advisor to the Whanganui electorate Youth MP Ebony Kalin. Together with Ebony and another Youth Advisor she’s tackling issues important to young people across the electorate, such as improving access to academic and employment opportunities for young people.

When we caught up with Keisya she was about to head off to the New Zealand Model United Nations, a four day conference providing attendees with the chance to experience life as a diplomat. The event includes engaging problem-solving workshops, stimulated committee sessions and opportunities to debate important topics relevant across the globe.

Keisya doesn’t shy away from big global issues. She’s coordinated local activity for Rise for Lives, which is a movement of young people from across New Zealand seeking to promote worldwide peace. As part of this Keisya successfully led an educational and fundraising event at Stratford High School for Ukraine.

She was also involved in the 2021 Aotearoa Youth Declaration, which gave her the opportunity to work with rangatahi from across the country to research, debate, and look to solve key issues facing Aotearoa New Zealand.

It’s safe to say Keisya will have a bright future ahead of her no matter what she decides to do. In her last year of secondary school she’s considering a conduit degree in science and law next year, but is leaving her mind open so she “can figure it out along the way”, she says.

We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on Keisya’s future achievements. Thank you for always leading by example and representing our district with your best intentions Keisya. Congratulations!

Abbey Sextus – Youth Citizen Award

Abbey’s in her last year of secondary school at Stratford High School and already boasts a long list of achievements across academic, sporting and voluntary activities. When we asked for her reaction to being nominated, she said, “Over the moon. I never thought I’d receive something like this, I just like helping and giving my time.”

Growing up in Toko Abbey says she was brought up around water and learnt to swim at a young age, which is obvious in her successful swimming attributes. Abbey is part of the Flyers Swim Squad, has represented Stratford High School at the NZ Secondary School Swimming, has won gold in the 200-metre butterfly while representing Taranaki at the Division 2 Swimming Championships, and participated in the Flannagan Cup open water swimming competition.

Swimming isn’t her only sporting strength, she’s been an active netballer through school as well as in spring and summer league competitions, and doesn’t shy away from trying out other sports as part of school competitions. It’s not just on the court or in the pool that she shows up for her community. Abbey volunteers her time helping out across sports by coaching Toko touch rugby and basketball teams, umpiring netball and sitting on committees like the School Sports Council and TSSA student leadership group. Abbey says she loves coaching the Toko kids, she sees it as a way to give back to the place she grew up.

Abbey’s desire to help others doesn’t stop in the sporting arena, she’s consistently putting her hand up to volunteer for various fundraisers, school events and community events like the A&P Show. Volunteering and community service is not new to the Sextus family, with Abbey’s grandfather John receiving a citizens award back in 1995. This was news to Abbey when we told her, clearly doing good things for others must be a natural characteristic of her family.

One of Abbey’s most notable achievements has been her appointment to Head Girl at Stratford High School for 2022. She says it’s been a change and challenge, especially with COVID-19, but she’s taken everything in her stride, telling us, “you only get what you put in, it’s on you at the end of the day.”

Her nominators say she is a true advocate for the school’s HEART values (Honest, Excel, Aroha, Respect, Tolerance), and we couldn’t agree more. Her advice to next year’s leaders was “be yourself”, and when asked what she’s looking to do after school, her answer didn’t come as a surprise to us. “For a long time I’ve known I want to help people, so I’m likely to study nursing,” says Abbey.

It’s pretty obvious to us that Abbey is a real role model among her peers and for other young people in our community. We wish her well with everything she pursues going forward. Congratulations!

Bruce Cleland – Citizen Award

Bruce is another recipient who hails from Toko. He went on to do his secondary school at Stratford High School then decided to do the big OE to Australia where he met his future wife before returning to start a family. We’re grateful he didn’t stick around in Australia forever because Bruce has been at the centre of three incredible pieces of community service across tennis, volleyball and the TET Multi-Sport Stadium.

Bruce also isn’t the first in his family to receive a Citizen Award, with his dad Neville being acknowledged with one in 2016, so his do good attitude runs in the family. “I was surrounded by parents and grandparents that were volunteers,” says Bruce. “Second nature, monkey see, monkey do!”

Bruce Cleland is a name well renowned in local tennis circles, he’s been a member of the Toko Tennis Club (1971-1981) and treasurer for two years with them, member of the Douglas Tennis Club for a couple of years after that (1985-1987), a Stratford Tennis Club members since 1988 and has held the role of president for this club for the last 26 years! It makes sense then, that Bruce was acknowledged as a Life Member for the Stratford Tennis Club in recent years. As president Bruce tells us he fits in to whatever needs to be done. A hands-on member Bruce is seen helping with anything from maintenance to sponsorship efforts, “anything to get kids into the sport,” he says.

Bruce has been coaching kids at tennis for 10 years and doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. He was also instrumental in fundraising the money needed to upgrade four courts to Astro turf under lights. “In my opinion they’re the best Astro courts in Taranaki,” he quips. “We’re very lucky to have had the support of local funders.”

Further afield Bruce has been involved in Taranaki regional tennis, a member of the Taranaki Tennis Association since 1989 and made a life member in 2021. He was also president for 4 years. He’s been a selector and manager for Taranaki representative teams for 6 years, a delegate on the Central Districts Tennis Board from 1994 to 2003 and chairperson for 5 of those. In 2014 he was recognised as Sport Taranaki and Tennis Central Volunteer of the Year.

A walking example of community service longevity, his commitments don’t stop there. He can add President of the Stratford Volleyball Club (2009-2014) and Volleyball Taranaki committee member (2015-2020) to his accolades. Another sport Bruce is passionate about and still an active player of. His son is now the president of the local club, and Bruce tells us one of the biggest rewards is attending tournaments around the north island and being told by other teams that they love coming to our Stratford venue. The TET Multi-Sport Stadium is where volleyball is played and it’s like a home away from home for Bruce. He’s been involved with the facility right from the beginning, playing a key role in the $2.8million development from the early 90s. “It started with a conversation with the netball crew in 1991 about adding a second storey and it grew from that,” he says.

Building the venue hasn’t been his only involvement. He’s been chairperson of the Stratford Combined Sports Society for 21 years, and acknowledged as a life member. That’s three life memberships if you’re counting. And to add a bit of variety to his voluntary efforts, many people might not be aware that Bruce was also a member of the Taranaki Monitor Farm Committee for 8 years, which was a group of farmers who were keen on making improvements to their farming practices.

To quote Bruce’s nomination form, he is ‘a local champion, he does everything with a positive attitude, a sense of humour – and a beer from the TET!’. Bruce tells us “it’s enjoyable, and everything you do in life should be enjoyable – plus I have an understanding wife!”

Patsy Commerford and Tony (Baz) Gordon – Citizen Award

It’s impossible to count up the number of volunteering hours this dynamic duo has contributed to our community. Their humble natures and attempt at staying under the radar was summarised by Patsy who said, “we were shocked (at finding out about the award), we don’t think we do anything spectacular.”

Far more than spectacular, Patsy and Tony are both instrumental in keeping the magic of theatre alive in our district. Both members of Stratford on Stage for many many years (too many to add up), they’ve spent 100s of hours maintaining and renovating ‘The Castle’ on Regan Street, improving it for smaller productions. Patsy is the costume expert, running the wardrobe for all Stratford on Stage shows, but beyond that supports community members needing an outfit for their next fancy-dress event. She’s even known to whip one up on her sewing machine if the right fit can’t be found in the wardrobe. Tony is never far away from his tools, often building clothing racks to hang the collection, and is the driving force behind building sets for productions at both the Castle and the TET King’s Theatre. When asked if anything has ever gone wrong with the set during a performance, Tony laughed, “we’re not paid for failures”

As active members of the King’s Theatre Trust for the past decade plus, they don’t just serve on the committee, they’re in amongst the action. Patsy is part of the amazing usher crew, and plays a part in coordinating cleaning of the theatre as well as stocking the theatre shop. Tony is often found, with hammer in hand, fixing or maintaining something – no project daunts him. Both have been a vital part of the theatre facelift in recent months. When walking around the Theatre, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something that Tony hasn’t built and Patsy will happily give you an in-depth tour of every nook and cranny. Their love and attention to this community asset is something the whole community should be proud of. “It’s iconic, unique. It’s a challenge, but it’s worth looking after,” they tell us.

While the theatre might be their home away from home, it’s not their only passion. In the summer months you’ll find them both down at the Stratford Cricket Club, both being involved in the club for 20 years or more. We don’t think Tony knows how to rest, he’s constantly keeping the cricket ground up to scratch – and will do anything to ensure the pitch is just right for his home team. Patsy runs the after match and special events and we’re told people come for her famous burgers. Their sons have both been keen cricketers from a young age and Patsy and Tony have been their number one supporters. Patsy says it’s a family thing, they love it and they’ve even opened their home to international players while they play for the local club.

Patsy and Tony’s skills and attributes complement each other’s so well, they both “roll up their sleeves and get on with it” so it’s easy to see they are both an asset to our community. We’re excited to celebrate them together with a 2022 Citizen Award each. Thank you both for your dedication to our community.

Walter Pease – Citizen Award

Walter has been described as the “backbone of the Whangamomona community, a quiet humble and modest man of many talents.” It’s not hard to see why that is when we dive into his contributions to the small community.

Living in the eastern districts for most of his life, Walter started school at Huiakama Primary then went on to New Plymouth Boys High School. After school he left Taranaki but always seemed to find a way home. Alongside farming, he is a contractor who helps out other local farmers with his ‘jack of all trade’ services.

His kids went through Marco School which found him serving time on the Board of Trustees, fundraising events, working bees and recently stepping back into the role of Chairperson on the Board, despite his children no longer being at the school. “It’s just something you do in a small district,” he tells us. “We all try to do our bit.”

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