Coastguard Awards West Coast Local Volunteer Of The Year
Doug Griffin from Coastguard West Coast has received the Volunteer of the Year Award for his outstanding commitment to the organisation at the National Coastguard Awards Dinner, held in Nelson on Saturday.
Doug received one of six annual national awards given to individuals and Coastguard units whose contributions to the organisation were recognised, as the New Zealand Coastguard community came together to honour the year’s achievements.
Doug’s strong social and community spirit has not only been clear during his 14 year tenure at Coastguard but also in the time he commits to volunteering for the Civil Defence, Army Territorials and the Greymouth Council.
Doug’s passion and organisational skills quickly came to the forefront as he gained the skills and experience to become a senior crew member and then Skipper while also acting as the Training Officer. As the only member of the unit holding a Certificate of Competency qualification, Doug turns out for every rescue, on water training activity and SAREX.
Doug has also been active in recruiting volunteers. The unit went through a four year period when the number of active volunteers dropped to four or five but worked hard to make it grow to 25 with 10 very active volunteers and a large group of young people waiting to come of age and join up. Doug continues to be a pivotal member of the Unit encouraging new members and retaining the current experienced crew.
Presently he is working on a project to obtain a floating jetty and lifter for the Unit’s rescue vessel “Ivan Talley Rescue”, He is putting in many hours liaising with the local builder about plans and organising with the local Council for appropriate permissions.
Coastguard New Zealand President Colin Small says, “Coastguard is able to continue the work it does to save lives at sea thanks to the dedication of volunteers like Doug and we are pleased to be able to honour those outstanding individuals who make it all possible with these awards.”
Coastguard is New Zealand’s primary provider of marine search and rescue services. It is made up of highly-trained volunteers who put themselves in harm’s way on a regular basis to ensure the safety of people at sea. This year 2,224 brave volunteers brought 6,996 Kiwis safely back to land and devoted a significant 348,346 hours to keeping New Zealander’s safe on the water.
“This year’s award winners have all shown outstanding service to Coastguard and their local boating communities, and our sincere thanks goes out to those volunteers for their commitment to saving lives at sea,” says Small
There are six categories for the awards –
TracPlus Volunteer of the Year Doug Griffin Coastguard West Coast
Rescue of the Year Coastguard Waiheke Island
Operational Volunteer of the Year Stephen Clews Coastguard Whakatane
Chevron Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year Warren Dooney Coastguard Auckland Air Patrol
Chevron Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year Nelson Colyer Coastguard Canterbury
Special Commendation – Earthquake Recovery Coastguard Canterbury Sumner Lifeboat
Waimakariri Ashley Canterbury Air Patrol
Kaikoura
The individual award recipients will receive a prize that assists in furthering their education, and professional development, within Coastguard.
Other winners:
Coastguard Waiheke Island, Rescue of the Year - In January this year, Coastguard Waiheke Island was called out to a vessel which had struck some rocks at Motorua Island in the Coromandel. The crew had already been out on the water for four hours attending other calls but raced out to assist the stricken boat which wasn’t coping well in the rough seas. The crew managed to convince the men to stay onboard despite their intention to jump into a small inflatable which could have proved fatal. Waiheke Rescue then managed to get in close enough to get both men on board safely despite the waves pounding the foundering vessel during the rescue.
Warren Dooney, Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year – Warren Dooney received the Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year for performing well above expectations. Warren has made training and volunteer recruitment a priority for the Unit this year which has been extremely successful and all of his dedication and groundwork will hold the Unit in good stead.
Stephen Clews, Operational Volunteer of the Year – Stephen Clews from Coastguard Whakatane was recognised for his work with the Unit’s technical projects. He played a key role in the radio communications upgrade and new vessel research and development. Stephen is also a Senior Master actively involved in marine search and rescue. At a Regional level, his input into the Centralised Radio Communications Hub proof of concept has been greatly appreciated.
Nelson Colyer, Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year – Nelson played a pivotal role in the successful rescue of the tug 'Rakanui' in April this year. He selflessly took control of the foundering vessel which was at risk of sinking, taking ownership of the salvage pump from the exhausted crew member and helping to bring the water levels to a manageable level. Both men and the vessel were brought back to shore safely thanks to Nelson overseeing the long arduous journey.
Coastguard Canterbury - Special Commendation – Coastguard’s Canterbury, Sumner Lifeboat, Waimakariri Ashley, Coastguard Air Patrol and Kaikoura units showed dedication beyond the call of duty when it came to assisting those in need after the region’s two devastating earthquakes. Volunteers from many of the units worked tirelessly together and their professionalism resulted in many commendations from other agencies who had been impressed with their efforts. The training that Coastguard employed at this time proved invaluable with Civil Defence adopting many of their processes as good practice. During this period, Coastguard personnel from many units gave over 5000 hours of service.