Unsung Heroes series, Mr Bartlett came to New Zealand as a marine engineer on the P&O ship Canberra in 1969.
And while he is no stranger to cruising, he says that winning the trip is a "very nice surprise".
As co-founder of StarJam, Mr Bartlett is passionate about helping children with disabilities reach their star potential through singing, dance, guitar and drumming.
He says the organisation is just a "magic" thing for the kids.
"Everywhere the kids go and they perform, they just bowl everybody over," Mr Bartlett told the
Herald
.
The StarJam singing group The Velvet Vocals will have a chance to wow an international audience at the Rotary International South Pacific Conference in Sydney at the end of the month.
Liane Clarke said she nominated Mr Bartlett because she wanted people to know about the incredible work he did for the organisation.
"Because he is at the StarJam office 40 to 50 hours a week, I think a lot of people think that he gets paid," Ms Clarke said. "I thought it was important to nominate him so that people realise he just does it because he's so passionate about the cause."
She said much of Mr Bartlett's work was done in the background and never really seen by a lot of others in the organisation.
"The thing about Roy is that he's so humble I think he might be a little bit embarrassed that he has done so well."
The Unsung Community Heroes series is run annually in the The Herald and on nzherald.co.nz in partnership with P&O Cruises. We invited nominations from readers to recognise people who selflessly work to make a difference in their local communities.
Some will be selected to feature in the paper and on nzherald.co.nz. Five will be chosen to join a P&O winter cruise.
