People at tables celebrating and eating

The Tai Tapu Community Centre was full of cheer on Tuesday 5 December, as community emergency volunteer teams were celebrated for their efforts. The annual dinner and prize giving recognises the hard work of Selwyn's Emergency Management volunteers.

Selwyn’s community emergency volunteers play a vital role in times of crisis. With over 30 community teams across Selwyn, these volunteers are ready to respond to emergencies and provide support to their local areas. With support of Selwyn Civil Defence Emergency Management staff, these teams are trained to open welfare centres that create safe spaces for the community to gather during challenging events, run Emergency Operations Centres and provide emergency response through light urban search and rescue and other specialist tasks.

During the celebration, 12 Community Response Team members were recognised for their decade-long commitment receiving awards, certificates, and flowers as tokens of gratitude. The event started with a karakia led by Councillor Shane Epiha, then Deputy Mayor Malcolm Lyall, the Council’s Chief Executive Sharon Mason and Head of Emergency Management Al Lawn, all expressed heartfelt thanks on behalf of Selwyn, commending the volunteers' enthusiasm, courage and dedication during emergency events.

The Council’s Emergency Management Advisor and Community Resilience Lead Sue Jenkins highlighted the broader impacts of their efforts, “our volunteers also deploy to other regions across New Zealand when disaster strikes. Deployments to Auckland, Gisborne, and Hawkes Bay after this year's weather events shows their ongoing commitment to assisting communities nationwide”.

New members are always welcome to join Selwyn’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management volunteer teams. If you would like to know more visit selwyn.govt.nz/civildefence.

Last modified: 13 Dec 2023 5:35pm