There must be few worthier recipients of being made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit than former MP for the Bay of Plenty Tony Ryall and Tauranga land developer and philanthropist Paul Adams.
Both men carved out huge reputations for getting the job done, in the mould of that other famous Bay go-getter, the late Sir Bob Owens.
What Mr Ryall achieved in politics, Mr Adams achieved and continues to achieve in the world of commerce, with each man leaving an indelible mark on the community. Mr Ryall, by the very nature of his job, had a much higher public profile and almost deserved a knighthood for negotiating that most volatile of portfolios, Health. By sheer tenacity and good judgement he kept it on an even keel and going forward. Popular and well liked, Mr Ryall's intelligence, wit and eye-catching shirt and tie combinations made him an engaging personality on the wider public stage.
He stamped his own personality on Parliament, including to help steer the partial sale of three state-owned electricity generators and Air New Zealand. Mr Adams was the genius behind Carrus Corp, which capitalised on the collapse of kiwifruit prices in the late 1980s to change the face of Bethlehem forever. From a small rural township on the outskirts of Tauranga, he carved up kiwifruit orchards into subdivisions that marked a huge generational leap forward on how land was subdivided - and ultimately on the whole look of New Zealand's premier lifestyle city. He took big risks and reaped big rewards. Carrus quickly became a byword for quality subdivisions and Mr Adams took that reputation into other cities, including Hamilton.
And although the inherent risks of being a land developer was never more starkly revealed than when the bottom fell out of the industry in 2008, Mr Adams was never content with simply building a fortune for its own sake. He spread his considerable talents (and money) into the not-for-profit community sector, including the Elms. It was a side to his character that was not widely known. There is an overwhelming sense when looking at the achievements of these two men that they are truly a lot more than the sum of their parts. And because Messrs Ryall and Adams are both still relatively young, there's a lot more left in the tank.
