Te Radar gives kudos to the Waikat

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release

3 September 2012

Te Radar gives kudos to the Waikato

Iconic TV personality Te Radar is sure to add even more pizazz to the Kudos awards evening this year.

The frizzy-haired comedian and documentary-maker is known for tackling sustainability in New Zealand and around the world. He has agreed to host The Kudos, Hamilton’s Science Excellence awards on September 27 and is expecting to be blown away by the entrants.

"Yes I am excited, I really love awards nights," he says after recently hosting the Brewers Guild Awards.

“I like them because you always get this insight into an industry or a community that you don’t normally see. You get to meet people who are doing really awesome things and excelling in their field.

"I never win anything," he says, "so it's nice to be able to give some out".

That's not technically true. Not only is he a Billy T Award recipient, but also his columns in the New Zealand Herald have won Qantas Media Awards. His shows are winners from Dunedin's Fringe Festival to the International Comedy Festival.

The Kudos is lucky to have snapped up Te Radar, who is currently busy filming another series of Global Radar and about to start a new pacific series. Global Radar will take him all around the world, comparing sustainability initiatives in New Zealand to other countries.

But as a true Waikato man, he is happy to come back to his stomping ground and support the region.

“I think people are very quick to dismiss Hamilton and the Waikato itself and yet at the same time there are some wonderful places to live and there’s some really talented folk doing some pretty amazing stuff.”

Te Radar grew up on a farm in the Waikato and says he always kept up with what was going on at the Ruakura Research center. He would read his dads New Scientist and National Geographic magazines and watch ideas evolve over 20 years, from hypothetical and “ridiculous” to becoming totally normal.

His favourite thing about science he says is "The discoveries, people go out in no particular field and say 'I'm gonna solve this."

He is expecting to be surprised at the Kudos awards which was established six years ago to recognize the outstanding contributions made by scientists working within the Waikato River Catchment, quite often extending their work to the central north Island and the Bay of Plenty.

Te Radar is excited to help present science awards in Agricultural, Environmental, Medical, Science Teacher/Communicator/Educator, Science Entrepreneur, Emerging and Lifetime Achievement.

"That's also why I think awards are really important, not just to award and re-award people in those fields, but also to bring it to peoples attention that this stuff is going on at a really high level."

Te Radar will be hosting the Kudos Awards on Thursday 27th September at the Southwell auditorium from 6pm.

To be a part of the black tie event and witness these new discoveries, go to www.thekudos.org.nz to purchase tickets and find out more.

ENDS

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