Local hero gets national recognition
A surprise nomination has put Richmond volunteer Marty Price in the running for the KiwiBank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year Award.
His entry beat thousands of Kiwis across the country to a shortlist of just 100 nominees.
“I received a medal and certificate in the mail, and it took me a few minutes to get my head around it all,” Marty says. “It was totally unexpected, and I’m thrilled.”
To be eligible for this award, nominees must have made, or be making, a significant contribution to their region.
As well as working full-time at Nelson Marlborough Health, Marty is a tireless volunteer for more than a dozen organisations in the region.
From working as a first responder for urban search and rescue to offering community mental health assistance and leading the Richmond community patrollers, he’s the man you want around in a crisis.
In fact, it was while volunteering as a patroller that Marty crossed paths with Kai With Love chief executive Abigail Packer, the person who nominated him.
“Marty reached out to me during lockdown and offered to help deliver food parcels for us with his community patrol team. It was a real lifesaver for us.”
She says nominating him was easy because of his great attitude and all the things he does for the region.
“I’m so proud that he made the shortlist, that’s not an easy thing to do. It just goes to show how respected his work in the community is.”
The 100 medallists will be whittled down to 10 semi-finalists by a panel of 50 judges and announced mid-December. From there, three finalists will be chosen, and an overall winner selected at a gala dinner on 31 March at the Cordis Hotel, Auckland.
“I can’t believe I’m one of the medallists, it’s an honour,” Marty says.
“Although, I have to say, I’m a little embarrassed by all the attention.”
The region has one other medallist, 16-year-old Sophie Weenink Smith who arranged her first beach clean-up when she was just 13, motivating 200 volunteers to join her.
Sophie is the Under 25 representative for the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum and is a youth ambassador for Kohine Maia, a Sport Tasman initiative to improve girls’ mental health by being active.
She has helped raise thousands of dollars for Giving Aroha to support the homeless community, and during Covid-19 lockdowns organised meal rosters to deliver food to the people living on the streets.
Sophie devotes every spare second of her time to create change.