Contact me: lettertomanukau@manukau.govt.nz

Letter to Manukau – Issue 84

Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards

There were a couple of great occasions in recent days that I was privileged to be part of.

On Friday night, more than 900 people attended the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards. The occasion was blessed by the presence of our Governor General, Sir Anand Satyanand and his wife Lady Susan, and Prime Minster John Key. We also had an excellent turnout of our councillors, Chief Executive Officer, Leigh Auton and a number of directors and staff members.

It's difficult for companies to sponsor large awards like these in the midst of a recession. But Westpac has been outstanding and have been consistent sponsors every year, so it was good to have General Manager of Marketing Ian Blair and his wife present.

I have always felt our business community was pretty shy about displaying how well they are doing, but there is a lot for us to be proud of.  

As usual our community has continued to perform well despite the tough economic challenges. I have been visiting individual businesses and attending business meetings to encourage and reflect on the challenges in the current economic climate. No one's saying a lot about it but I'm feeling confident about the state of our local economy and I am positive we have what it takes to ride this recession out.

At the business awards, we also inducted two local business people, Noel Holyoake of Holyoake Industries and the late Eric Kendall, founder of Temperzone in Mangere.

Noel was completely stunned by the announcement and gave a heartwarming and humbling acknowledgement. Eric's family was also there to receive Eric's award. It's tremendous to honour our talented leaders in this way.

The Manukau City Council-sponsored Young Business Person of the Year award went to Julian Robertson, the owner and driving force behind Fishpond, an on-line book selling company based in the Airport Oaks area. It was a wonderful effort from a young man with a big future. The Business of the Year went to NALCO National Aluminum Limited, a superbly run business competing nationally and internationally.

School visits

Last week we also attended a performance of Beauty and the Beast put on by the pupils at St Kentigerns College. It was outstanding and enjoyable.  The quality of this performance is a compliment to the pupils but in particular the school in support of arts and culture within our community.

I also spent a great morning with young environmentalists from Howick Intermediate and Pakuranga College. The schools are involved in a joint project - cleaning and maintaining the water quality of the Pakuranga Creek. Five Howick Intermediate students, who conducted a scientific experiment and assessed water quality, were our hosts. They have made a joint list of proposals for our council and the community board to act on as part of their Enviro school project.

The students were very animated about their hopes for a sustainable local creek environment and I admired their dedication. I support working with these children as they look to ensure their creek is well maintained.

Sir Howard Morrison

We have lost a great totara with the passing of Sir Howard Morrison.

Sir Howard passed away at his home in Rotorua, aged 74.  He was, quite literally, a big totara in the entertainment world.  He had an extraordinary career that spanned more than half a century and he was much loved not only in Rotorua, but throughout the country and the world. 

Sir Howard was a wonderful New Zealander whose contribution to the world of music and the arts has ensured his legacy for all New Zealanders.  Our thoughts go out to his whanau at this sad time. 

Have a good week.

Len Brown

Mayor of Manukau

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