SPORT AWARDS - Exalted Guy gets another award for the drawer

It was another tough day on the farm for Richie Guy yesterday. Overnight rain, hail, gale force wind and lightning strikes saw to that.
But he still managed to tidy up the mess in time to keep a lunchtime appointment in his ongoing role as chairman of the Sport Northland regional sports trust. It was pure Richie Guy, and one of the reasons why he was named one of the inaugural recipients of the national SPARC Sector Awards.
Designed to recognise outstanding contribution to sport, it was a significant acknowledgement from the parliamentary offices of the Sport and Recreation Minister, Clayton Cosgrove. A Parliamentary slap on the back is all well and good, but it doesn't help fix up the farm. It just isn't Guy's style either. He would rather be out on the farm than attending fawning thank you ceremonies.
"The funny thing is, when other people get awards I quite enjoy it, but I just don't feel comfortable when it's happening to me," Guy said. "I suppose getting thank yous is far better than people telling you you're a b*****d. I've had a few tell me that, too, in my time," he said.
Guy was one of two inaugural recipients, along with former New Zealand Olympic hockey medal winner Sewlyn Maister. Both have remarkable records as international sportsmen and are still forging impressive careers as administrators.
The longest serving chairman of Sport Northland - his current term now in its 10th year, and he has been on the trust board since its inception in 1991 - Guy has exalted status for his feats on and off the sports fields in Northland. A former All Blacks prop forward with 91 games for North Auckland, he is a life member of the Northland Rugby Union. After joining the then New Zealand Rugby Union Council in 1984, managing the All Blacks team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and becoming NZRFU Chairman in 1995, he was awarded NZRU life membership.
He was awarded the Steinlager Salver for Outstanding Contribution to New Zealand Rugby six years ago. Guy also held a world record for the `farmers walk' Scottish Highland Games discipline and coached club rugby in Northland.
Sport Northland chief executive Brent Eastwood said Guy's reputation as a competitor coupled with his effective, no-nonsense approach to sports administration made him the ideal candidate for the inaugural SPARC award.
"Richie Guy is a legend in Northland sporting circles - from his time playing for the All Blacks and the famous North Auckland teams of the early 1970s through to his administrative deeds guiding the NZRFU and Sport Northland through challenging times, Richie has made, and continues to make, an immense contribution to sport ... " Eastwood said.
Guy wasn't quite so eloquent about it, even though he has so many significant awards that his mantelpiece at his home at Waipu must be overcrowded.
"I don't keep them on the mantelpiece anyway, I keep them in a drawer out of sight, but yeah, I have a couple," he said.