Our "Wintec family" received Hamilton City Council Civic Awards

Fifteen people committed to building a better Hamilton, giving up their own time over many years to support a variety of communities and causes, received awards at  Hamilton City Council's Civic Awards ceremony last Friday.

The civic awards are an annual fixture in the Hamilton City Council calendar, celebrating the contributions to Hamilton made by the city's residents.

“One of my personal values is to always say thank you to those working tirelessly to improve the life of their fellow citizens,” says Mayor Andrew King who presented the awards.

Richard Lawrence who has worked at Wintec since 2001 as a senior academic staff member in our Centre for Languages, has been awarded for services to the community.

Richard has long been a driving force in promoting friendship and understanding between Koreans and the rest of the community in Hamilton and across New Zealand. With Jungmi Ko, Richard founded, and for ten years co-chaired, the New Zealand Republic of Korea Friendship Society. Richard is an active supporter of the Waikato Korean School, the Korean War Veterans Association (Waikato) and the Waikato Korean Association.

In these roles and through his dealings at Wintec, he has coordinated innumerable intercultural events, church services, educational forums, social activities and photographic and essay competitions. Richard actively assists new migrants to settle into Hamilton.

“I am honoured and humbled to have received this award,” says Richard. “It encourages me to continue to dedicate myself to this work and to cultural diversity.”

Two other “Wintec family” members were also awarded. Bernie Crosby (and his wife Kaye) received an award for services to business and the community. Bernie received an honorary degree from Wintec back in 2010.

Anthea Simcock was awarded for services to the community for her dedication to child welfare, especially through her role of Chief Executive of Child Matters. She received a Wintec honorary degree in 2015.

Click here to see the full list of 2017 recipients and read more about the Hamilton City Council Civic Awards.

 Image: Richard Lawrence, Wintec's senior academic staff member, awarded for services to the community © KIPhotography