Whakatāne’s annual Young Achiever Awards have seen 144 members of the community recognised for national or international excellence in academic, cultural and sporting fields.

Organised jointly by the Whakatāne District Council and Whakatāne West Rotary Club, the Awards were held on 31 October 2013 at the Whakatāne Liberty Centre and were open to any young person up to and including secondary school level. More than 250 people attended the ceremony, and Master of Ceremonies Ian Finch noted that this reflected the high degree of support the community has for the event.

Guest speaker Natalie Coates of Whakatāne, who recently graduated in Law from Harvard University and now lectures at Auckland University, urged all recipients to always be positive and “Give it a go”, and said she was reminded by the Awards of the great diversity, scope and high level of achievement that was being pursued in the area.

Mayor Tony Bonne closed the ceremony by congratulating all recipients and urging the Award winners to aim high and to make a return home a part of their life journey, so that our community would remain vibrant and dynamic.