Te Puke well-represented at TECT Western Bay Community Awards

Luke Landon celebrates winning the People's Choice Award at the TECT Western Bay Community Awards.

Te Puke was well-represented when the winners of this year’s TECT Western Bay Community Awards were announced last week.

Poutiri Wellness Centre won the Heart of the Community Award, a category in which Epic Te Puke was also a finalist.

Former Te Puke High School student Jasrose Kaur Mallhi won the Youth Spirit Award, and Luke Landon, a Volunteer of the Year finalist, won the People’s Choice Award.

Brooke Taingahue, who completed a practicum at Paengaroa-based Youth Encounter, was a finalist for the Youth Spirit Award.

A holistic wellness hub in Te Puke, Poutiri Wellness Centre offers affordable and accessible health, employment and wellness services for whānau, while also supporting a network of 12 hauora providers across the Bay of Plenty.

The centre’s win was in recognition of the important work it does to deliver hauora services in Te Puke.

“Most special for most of us is that we serve in the communities that we love, are a part of, that we are from, that a number of us whakapapa to,” says Poutiri Wellness Centre CEO, Kirsty Maxwell-Crawford. “That is a real blessing for us that we get every day, to be serving the needs of families from all walks of life and to impact [them] by helping to meet their health needs.”

Western Bay Mayor James Denyer with Poutiri Wellness Centre CEO Kirsty Maxwell-Crawford and chairman Spencer Webster.

Luke, 25, had been volunteering at The Daily Café for some time when he was asked, in 2021, to deliver 250 lunches to four schools in the wider Te Puke area every school day.

The lunches are not funded by the Ministry of Education’s Lunches in Schools programme, so Luke’s volunteering enables even more lunches to be made for schools, fuelling students and supporting their ability to learn.

He has now delivered around 50,000 lunches to Te Puke students. He also spends time at Youth Encounter, where he is part of the mentoring programme.

Luke’s mum Janice says he was very excited about being nominated and attending the awards.

“He just felt so supported,” she says.

As well as family and friends, there were people from The Daily, Youth Encounter and Star Jam, and another finalist from somewhere he has also attended all cheering him on.

“I think he thought it was his whole party.”

Janice had been tipped off Luke had won an award, but she didn’t know which.

“He was in the Volunteer of the Year category, and that went past, and he whispered in my ear and he said, ‘Aww, so I didn’t win’.

“But we kept saying to him, you are already a winner because you are actually a finalist, and it’s only winners who are here.”

Janice says the award was recognition of Luke’s hard work.

“I think sometimes young people like Luke can be very overlooked, so just to have the recognition ... he’s been working hard for a long time and [in] all the positions he’s had, he’s always put in volunteer time.

“He enjoys going out every day with his support worker Stacey Jones - she’s great with him, and all the schools have got to know Luke.”

Jasrose Kaur Mallhi was unable to attend the ceremony. The award was presented to Jasrose's mum Narinder Kaur and sister Ekkjot by 2022 Youth Spirit Award winner Quinn Boyle.

Jasrose was recognised for championing diversity and inclusion.

She was a central part of Te Puke High School’s Culture Committee and a member of the Global Ambassadors of Tauranga and Western Bay.

As a Global Ambassador, Jasrose supported initiatives at a national level, representing Tauranga as part of an Ethnic Youth Forum, and was a representative at the Festival for the Future. She also stepped forward to MC the 2022 Tauranga Diwali Festival.

Now studying in Wellington, she was unable to be at the awards, but on FaceTime, was able to “see everything”.

The 18-year-old says she was shocked to win the award, presented by last year’s winner, Quinn Boyle from Ōtamarākau.

“I didn’t think I was going to win. When I was told I was nominated, I was in disbelief then, so when I won that was even more — wow.”

She says volunteering has always been a good way to meet people and make connections.

“Because my time wasn’t already taken up doing a part-time job, I had spare time, and with that time I like doing things — I like keeping busy.”

She says all her volunteer work has been connected, with one thing leading to another.

Jasrose is still finding her feet at university, but has already picked out “a few clubs and things here that I’d like to be part of”.

She will continue with her role as Global Ambassador.

Community representatives Carlo Ellis, Paul Geoghegan and Vicki Semple made up the judging panel of the Western Bay Community Awards.

Vicki says selecting the finalists and winners out of the high-calibre nominees was a challenging task, but learning about the work of dedicated people across our region was inspirational.

“It’s a real privilege to honour the generous, resourceful, and visionary people and groups who are working to build happy, healthy, safe and thriving communities here in the Bay of Plenty.

“We’re incredibly lucky to have so many volunteers and community groups working to meet the needs of our communities. These people are putting in the mahi and inspiring change. They don’t do it for recognition, so it was fantastic to be able to thank and applaud them for their contributions.”

Over 45 nominations were received across six award categories, and more than 1,300 votes were submitted for the People’s Choice Award.

Previously known as the TECT Community Awards, the Western Bay Community Awards were this year delivered in partnership with the Bay’s local funders Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

“The Community Awards are all about recognising the good sorts in our region and celebrating the passion, dedication and incredible work they deliver for our communities,” says TECT chairman Bill Holland.

“We thank them for the immeasurable difference they are making and hope the awards go some way in showing how much their contribution means to the community.”

The 24 finalists were announced late last year, with videos showcasing their work shared online.