Taupō’s top volunteer
Raewyn Beattie in action with the Southern Lakes Fire Brigade.
She drives the school bus and the fire engine, organises Anzac Day services, runs the local community hall and generally keeps things ticking along at the southern end of Lake Taupō.
By Dan Hutchinson
Raewyn Beattie is the Tremains Volunteer Service Awards Volunteer of the Year, announced after the Community and Volunteer Expo at the Great Lake Centre on Saturday.
Both events are run by Volunteer Great Lake Taupō – a group set up to support all volunteer-based groups in the district.
Raewyn is quick to point out that she is “only as good as the team around me” and everything she is involved with is a team effort.
She was coaxed up to Taupō from her home in Kuratau by Taupō District Council’s Tūrangi-Tongariro councillor Sandra Greenslade for the awards.
When Taupō & Tūrangi News caught up with her she was already itching to get back, to set up the hall for a quiz night. About 140 people were expected, from a town with 400 permanent residents.
She was raised by volunteering parents and when she had her own children she naturally helped out with sports teams and other activities.
When she moved to Kuratau, she got involved in the community.
“I was supposed to be semi-retired and now I'm busier than what I've ever been.”
She drives the Kuratau School Bus, and is chair of the Omori Kuratau Community Trust, which runs the community owned and operated community centre that needs lots of events to keep it running, hence the quiz night.
She says driving the school bus in the morning and afternoon gives her “a chunk of time in the middle of the day” which is why she took on the chairwoman role at the trust.
Then the Southern Lakes Fire Brigade put out the call for volunteers so she got involved in that too, in first response and community education.
She also has roles in environmental protection and several other community groups.
When presenting the award Volunteer Great Lake Taupō trustee Ian Jackson said Raewyn is the “heart of her community”.
“Whether Raewyn is organising Anzac Day events, leading fundraising events, or stepping in as the first responder, her tireless commitment touches every aspect of life at the southern end of Lake Taupō.”
Cr Greenslade says there is a team of volunteers around Raewyn in her various endeavours.
“She's inspiring, and she pushes them from behind, and she says, ‘come on guys, this is what we're doing’. And then she's out there, and she's such an amazing example that everybody wants to do it.
“I mean, the Anzac Day is a perfect example. She got the Anzac Day thing going, and this year we would have had 200 people.
“Absolutely incredible. The quiz nights, all of the potluck dinners, all of it.”
The rest of the winners will feature in a special centrefold of the Taupō & Tūrangi News next week, with young volunteers, groups and inspiring individuals given credit for their activities.