Councils are winners at SOLGM awards

Hastings District Council has joined with their Napier counterparts to win the Council Community Relationships category in the Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) awards.

The entry came after the councils combined to help in excess of 800 people fly to Hawke's Bay for some 'time out' following the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake which struck Canterbury on Tuesday February 22nd 2011.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule and Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott called on Hawke’s Bay residents to open their homes to those from Canterbury and put together a fund of $200,000 to provide the flights, with support from Air New Zealand.

In their report the judging panel said “The project was not just a laudable case of one community reaching out to another, but is an example of your councils engaging effectively with their own communities to find a useful means of harnessing the community’s desires in a time of crisis.”

“This can only have positive implications for the ongoing relationships of the two councils with their own communities.”

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says “The way the Hawke’s Bay community came together to offer support and accommodation was heart warming. We were enormously proud of those who reached out to Canterbury residents as they struggled to return their lives to normal in the aftermath of the earthquake. We are also extremely grateful to staff from both councils who worked tirelessly to match Christchurch people with flights and Hawke's Bay homes.”

Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott says “This award is a testament to all those people in Hawke’s Bay who so graciously offered their homes and support to fellow Kiwis in their time of need. The people of Hawke’s Bay have big hearts and were glad to offer much needed respite to Canterbury residents.”

The award was presented to representatives from both councils at the SOLGM Conference in Rotorua this week.