Colleen Carr, Lake Hawea
Queens Service Medal (QSM) for services to the community
A strong community was a wonderful thing to be part of and Colleen Carr has worked to create that at Lake Hawea.
“Very delighted and proud and very humbled” was her reaction to being recognised but there were many other people equally deserving, she said.
Lake Hawea was growing rapidly and it was important the community retained its own identity and not became just an outpost of Wanaka.
There were a lot of young families in the area without support systems and it was important to develop that for them, Mrs Carr said.
In the past 13 years she had been chairwoman, deputy chairwoman and secretary of the Lake Hawea community centre, a member of the foreshore management group and voluntarily cared for gardens at the community centre and Hawea Bowling Club.
A monthly family Friday evening group with children’s activities, and a monthly village meet and greet, particularly encouraging new residents to get involved in the community, were her initiatives.
Quiz nights, village dinners to celebrate volunteers and mid-winter Christmas as well as Christmas picnics in December, the Wise Ones groups for residents over 65 and the Haere Mai group for people from various cultures who had settled in Hawea, including social events and English for Speakers of Other Languages lessons, were ways she ensured everyone felt welcomed and included in the community. She also organised the annual Town v Country Waitangi Day sports contest between Hawea Flat and Lake Hawea.
