Former Hastings resident and Karamu High student Mike Williams credits a wider team for his “surprise” New Year Honour.
Williams is to be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for a raft of governance and community contributions - but it’s the successful tenure as chief executive of the New Zealand Howard League for Penal Reform he’s most proud of.
“This honour is a tribute to the staff and volunteers of the league,” Williams said. “They’ve taught reading and writing plus a wide range of other skills to hundreds of prisoners, and helped 16,000 ex-prisoners and other offenders to get their driver’s licences and therefore a much better chance of getting a job.”
The recognition includes more than 30 years of service to the community, directorships of KiwiRail Holding Ltd, Ontrack and board member of Ritchies Transport Limited.
He was also director of Transit New Zealand, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd, Insight Market Research, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority and Auckland Transport.