Editorial: hail our unpaid servants

You know someone who works tirelessly for the community.

We all do.

I hear about these people all the time, when someone says "hey, you should do a story about this person who ..."

For example, the chap who keeps the grass verges tidy in Morningside. Or the person who someone reckons is always fishing debris out of the Town Basin. Or the hundreds - possibly thousands - of volunteers that help make our region tick over each day.

These people never call the Advocate themselves - it's always people who have seen them in action and quietly marvelled at their actions.

Consider for a moment, what would happen if our volunteers decided they weren't going to turn up to "work".

The region would slow to a halt, we'd stand around collectively scratching our heads, noting the jobs, services or tasks that seemed to "just get done".

As our page 5 story says today, volunteers will tackle any kind of task except blowing their own trumpets.

That's why we need to blow it for them.

If you know someone who deserves a little recognition, nominate them for a Whangarei District Council's 2012 Civic Honours Award for outstanding voluntary community service. Nominations close on May 25.

The council says the purpose of the award is to recognise those people, who by their personal leadership, inspiration, sacrifice or devotion to a cause, have made a significant contribution to the community well-being of the Whangarei district. All nominees and nominators must live in the Whangarei district.

The other great thing about these awards is that they put a little sunshine in the day for people who spend a lot of time thinking about others, and not themselves.