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Outstanding Community Service Awards

Friday 5 October 2012, 4:07PM

By Tasman District Council

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TASMAN

Half a dozen tireless volunteers were honoured by the Tasman District Council recently with Outstanding Community Service Awards. This issue we profile Kaye Halkett and Barry Cashman.

Kaye Halkett

Richmond resident Kaye Halkett, who is partially sighted, served on the Board of Trustees for Waimea College for four years. She has also been on kindergarten committees, and volunteered for reading recovery work at Henley and Nelson Intermediate schools.

Kaye is a member of Blind Citizens, helping to organise outings for members, including to the museum and Suter gallery. “Just because you are blind doesn’t mean you aren’t interested in the visual arts,” she told Mudcakes and Roses magazine. The latest outing involves a personal talk at the Suter from carver Tim Wraight, and the Spectrum radio crew came along to do a programme on how you don’t need 20/20 vision to appreciate art.

Kaye is part of the Council’s Accessibility for All group, raising awareness of the difficulties faced by impaired people in their daily lives. She recently did a survey of the sandwich boards, flags and shop wares waiting to trip up the sight-impaired in Richmond’s Queen Street.

She is not easily daunted in her own life, going on long tandem-cycle tours with husband Lawrie. Kaye also rows in a “blind” foursome that includes one fully sighted member. This month she walked the Heaphy Track with family.

“I try to find a way to achieve something rather than let it be a problem.”

In their younger days, Kaye and Lawrie did a “life-changing” 21 months of Volunteer Service Abroad in Nepal, helping to plant out the Mount Everest National Park.

She says she felt like a beginner amongst the other Community Service Award recipients, but announced, “Oh well, I’ll just have to keep going…”

Barry Cashman

Barry Cashman has clocked up half a century of service to the Golden Bay community.  He continues a long family history of involvement with the Takaka Citizens Band – although he doesn’t play –  and recently took responsibility for ensuring the historic band rotunda at Pohara was reroofed, repainted and well-maintained.

His other community service included: Takaka Primary School committee, founding member of the Golden Bay Promotion Association, on the Pohara Beach Domain Board for 24 years, Takaka Rugby Club, Golden Bay Recreation Park, the Bay Museum Committee, Heritage Golden Bay, the High School reunion committee, giving assistance to the Pupu Hydro Society, and sitting on the Golden Bay Community Board for six years, followed by two terms as a Tasman District Councillor.

Barry says a friend recently went through that list and they totted up 266 years of service.

“You say you’re going to pull back but it’s damned difficult to do,” he says with a laugh.

Present involvements include the historic plaques in Takaka, the band and the Masonic Lodge. Barry is also involved with the Takaka wastewater treatment plant working group as a resident member.

The retired plumber has also not retired as a plumber, running a workshop to make flashings etc. (He began his working life in 1956.)

Barry says giving back to the community is also a family tradition. His grandfather Jim Page was a councillor on the Takaka County Council – his name is on the 1928 foundation stone of its headquarters, which is now the Tasman District Council Service Centre. Barry’s dad Jim and mum Rona also gave their time generously to many groups in Golden Bay.