Young Dunedin and Nelson winners in the Z Energy Awards

Young Dunedin and Nelson winners in the Z Energy People Awards

Dean Elder of Dunedin and Sarah Kerwun-Boulton from Nelson have been named as the winners of the Z Energy People Awards 2011, organised by the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation

The awards recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals within the industry. There are two categories, the Leader of Tomorrow and Trainee of the Year.

Dean, 24, from Dunedin, a construction manager with Southroads, was named as Leader of Tomorrow while Sarah, 29, from Nelson, a contracts engineer/health and safety manager, with Ching Contracting, took the trainee title.

Dean said he was delighted with the award. “To be a good leader it’s important to be able to influence a group of people or individuals towards the achievement of a goal,” he said.

“Consequently, you must have strong personal drive, professionalism, integrity and be able to encourage these standards in others.”

Dean was presented with a trophy and a cheque for $2000.

Sarah was the only female finalist for Trainee of the Year, pipping three other finalists to the title and winning $1000 and a trophy.

She said: “I am fortunate in that my employer has always supported my training through making time available to work on my studies and ensuring that I obtain the relevant practical experience. My training has demanded significant investment from myself and my employer but I am pleased with the career path I have chosen and look forward to building on this further in the future.”

Leader of Tomorrow Head Judge Tenby Powell, Director of Hunter Powell Group, said it had been a great pleasure travelling around the country to meet finalists in their places of work.

“All the young people we met had the ability to be wonderfully balanced leaders of tomorrow,” he said.

Charlie Taylor, head judge of the Trainee of the Year, said the standard of finalists was very high.

“It was very heartening to see the great bunch of young people we have coming into the industry,” he said.

The awards were announced at the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation/Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand joint conference in Rotorua.

ENDS

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