More Info →Karena Doig - nominated for Horowhenua Achiever of the Year award - top of article

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To this end there is a mixed bag of talented people to choose from... including a Olympic rower and a commited Christian businessman who set up holiday camps. ne eventual winner will be. decided by a specially appointed independent panel of three judges at a award presentation dinner at Waikanae Memorial Hall next Saturday April 29. There is a cover charge of $25 per head to the dinner.

Mr H.L. Parker.
A man who was in-strumental in introducing a new concept in retirement accommodation to , the Gold Coast, Mr H.L. Parker, has been selected as a finalist in the Horowhenua Achiever of the Year Award by the Rotary Club of Waikanae.

Mr Parker is chairman of the Parklands/ Woodlands Trust and has /been actively, involved with the retirement village devlopments since the concept was first mooted about 19 years ago.

The schemes provide a secure and pleasant environment for retired people in individually owned accommodation units. The developments are planned to give occu-pants maximum independence while still pro-viding backup support.

They have been widely acclaimed and have drawn endorsement from three previous Prime Ministers, with ParkIands being officially opened in 1971 by the then Governor General, Sir Arthur Porritt.

The Waikanae Rotary Club describes Mr Parker as the inspiration, the driving force, the organising brain, the executive head, and the financial backer who facilitated the building of the early accommodation - when money was not otherwise available.

The facilities are managed by the Parklands/ Woodlands Trust which is a non-profit charitable organisation formed under the sponsorship of churches in Waikanae, the Red Cross, Rotary and the Kapiti Trust.

Levin businessman Bill Crighton.
Mr Crighton started with his father in the W. Crighton and Son Ltd sawmilling business in Levin in 1962. He formed a company called The Horowhenua Earthworks Ltd and with the profits channelled them into the building of inter-denominational Christian camps. The first camp was built in Waikanae on 40 acres of land bordering the river and called the Waikanae Christian Holi-day Park. Others to follow were Forest Lakes at Otaki and Curious Cove in the Marlborough Sounds. Overall the camps can accommodate 800 people with the aim of helping people mentally, physically and spiritually. He has been nominated by the Rotary Club of Levin South.

Foxton racing celebrity Mr Paddy Busuttin.

Mr Busuttin, 34, has trained nearly 500 winners during his 14 year career. Married with three children, he has been the leading trainer in Central Districts for the past six years. This season alone horses he trains have won 52 races and earned stake money in excess of $600,000. Mr Busuttin has been selected as a finalist by the Foxton Rotary Club. In addition to his Foxton training complex, where he presently has 50 horses in training, Mr Busuttin operates a stable of 10 horses at Christchurch. He is the first and only trainer in New Zealand to have establishments in both islands.

His biggest successes for this season include training the winners of the New Zealand Cup (Gallipoli), the Canterbury Gold Cup (Red Chiffon), the Masterton Cup (Gallipoli), the Wairarapa Cup (Play a Tune), the Wellington Cup (Gallipoli), the Wellington Stakes (Syrian Sea), the Newmarket Handicap (Hot Ice) and the South Island Breeders Stakes (Classic Walk).

Mr Busuttin has also had his successes in Australia. One of the most noteable was the training of Tom's Mate for the Sandown Cup and the C.B. Fisher Plate in Melbourne, in 1977. Both races were won by this horse who was in his third season of training. Prior to Mr Busuttin taking over the training of Tom's Mate, the horse had been considered by many to be broken down with no future in racing.

Olympic canoeist John McDonald.

John's interest in canoeing grew through active participation in the local surf club. His first major breakthrough in canoeing came in 1985 when he was selected as a member of the New Zealand team for the World championships where he competed in the K2 1000 event and reached the semi-final. 1987 saw him back at the world championships taking part in the K4 1000 and K4 500, finishing sixth and eighth respectively. He was the sole Horowhenua representative at the Seoul Olympics. At the recent national championships he beat fellow Olympians Ian Ferguson and Paul McDonald in the K1 1000 and also won the K1 10,000 event. John will be competing again at the world championships this year. He has been nominated by the Otaki Rotary Club.

Mr Adrian Doig, the manager and profes-sional coach at Raumati Pools.

Mr Adrian Doig has been selected as a finalist for the Horowhenua Achiever of the Year Award by the 'Rotary Club of Paraparaumu. The club says Mr Doig's. expertise in swim-ming tuition has been a great asset not only to young people eager to participate in competi-tive swimming, but also to a wider cross-section of people who have been encouraged to participate in recreational water sports. The club says Mr Doig's efforts have made a major impact on the 'Whole community of the Paraparaumu-Raumati area.

He has been managing Raumati Pools since 1984, prior to which he was a lecturer in physical education at Wellington Teachers' College. Mr Doig has also been actively involved during his career with football, basketball, cricket and gymnastics. This month he is taking a group of swimmers from Wellington, Wairarapa and Auckland to Hong Kong for an international swim meeting.

Mr Roy Dutton, OBE of Paraparaumu.

A life member and former chairman of the National Olympic committee executive, Mr Dutton has been actively involved in sports administration for nearly 35 years, and has been nominated by the Rotary Club of Kapiti. Prior to moving into sports administration Mr Dutton was a competitive cyclist until the age of 38. He was chairman of the New Zealand Cycling Council for 18 years during which time he held the offices of president, national selector and cycling manager to the Empire Games at Cardiff in 1958. He is a life member of the council. Mr Dutton has served on the National Olympic committee executive for 30 years, 17 of which he represented cycling and 13 years representing equestrian sports. He has also represented New Zealand on several international sporting organisations. He was awarded an OBE for his services in 1985.

Horowhenua College student Karena Doig, the youngest person ever to swim Cook Strait.

She swam the strait on February 18 this year... just eighteen days after celebrating her fifteenth birthday. She has been selected as an award finalist by the Rotary Club of Levin. Karena took eight hours and thirty minutes to swim from the South Island to the North Island. During that time she covered a distance of. 28.64 kilometres giving her an average speed of just over threekilometres per hour.

Throughout the swim she maintained a steady stroke rate of 72-74 per minute clocking up an incredible 38,000 strokes. When she started, the water temperature was barely marginal for adult male swimmers and did not rise significantly throughout the swim. Further stress was added by an encounter with a sizeable shark!

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Date

April 22, 1989