"We get people recommended to us by the Maori and Pakeha communities, we check them out, there are normally about eight people who we think are extremely worthy," Mr Jenkins said.
The awards, which started about 2002, were part of a wider Unity Week that has been held for 25 years to celebrate unity and bi-cultural togetherness.
"The majority of this year's recipients were Maori, there was one man with a Samoan background and two or three Pakeha - it's a great slice of New Zealand - it reflects who we are today and brings everyone together for a celebration."
Mr Matehe was shy about his nomination and kept it quiet - not even telling his mother.
"I just go about what I'm doing, but a friend of mine told a friend who told a friend and eventually I had a lot of local supporters," he said.
Having worked at Whakatu Freezing Works for 11 years, from the age of 14, he was guided and taught by others - lessons he now passed on to community groups through waka ama, six days a week.
"It's about passing on those teachings ... I take three mentally disabled groups, three elderly, a variety really. The primary and high school students go early in the morning, so it frees up time to take the others mid-morning."
He did it to brighten lives.
"For me, it's not about the money, it's about putting a smile on someone's face - that's enough of a reward."
A new event on the Unity Week programme this year was the Napier Pilot City forum held at the Pukemokimoki Marae - a community-led evaluation of the barriers to Napier reaching its full potential as New Zealand's most liveable city.
Dr Elizabeth Stanley from the Institute of Criminology at Victoria University of Wellington was the principal speaker. She talked about building a positive future after victimisation in welfare homes.
