9 June 2017

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Trustpower Community Awards

Inquiry

I was hoping to get comment from a representative from the Rotorua Museum Outside the Walls Walking Tour guides who were the supreme Trustpower winners on the night.

- How are they feeling after taking home the supreme award?

- How have the volunteers felt they have adapted to the new challenges with the closure of the museum?

- What do they plan to do with the $1500 they received as part of their prize?

Any further comment on how the night went from acting mayor Dave Donaldson would be appreciated.

Response

Volunteer Heather Willis, who took the first tour the afternoon the museum had to be closed, accepted the award on behalf of the group.

We're absolutely thrilled and humbled by this recognition - there were so many other worthy recipients, she says.

We're a diverse bunch from all parts of the world and all walks of life and we're very proud to be able to share our love of Rotorua with visitors and locals.

Mrs Willis paid special tribute to Rotorua Museum Volunteer Coordinator Julie Parsons, saying her infectious enthusiasm, rubs off on the volunteers.

It was Mrs Parsons who came up with the idea for the Government Gardens tours. The concept of taking the museum outside the walls is part of a long-term strategy to reach out into the community and the museum had previously offered outdoor tours as part of Walktober and then again during a school holidays programme.

We had tourists arriving and expecting a tour of the museum at 2pm so I put a script together and let the volunteers loose.

More than 1500 tourists and locals have enjoyed the tours to date, learning about Rotorua's history, points of interest in the Government Gardens and taking in the sculpture trail in the gardens. There are still two tours a day, at 11am and 2pm.

Rotorua Lakes Council Creative Communities lead Councillor Karen Hunt says the tours were an incredibly creative response to an unforeseen event.

They're a very hardworking group of incredibly passionate people who give freely of their time to share our stories, she says.

The awards were a wonderful event. Our community is full of volunteers and these awards just scratch the surface - it's a small way to celebrate the very big pool of people making a big contribution. They're the lifeblood of any community and we couldn't be any more proud.