Honour to Trish Hanlen

One of the Bay of Plenty’s most well known and respected members of the social work and teaching fraternities and champion of voluntary workers, Trish Hanlen, was awarded the NZ Order of Merit in June this year when the Queen’s Birthday Honours were bestowed.

Trish’s list of community service and achievements in the governance, management, leadership and advisory roles as well as the “hands on” work spans from1983 and includes serving in communities of Tokoroa, Invercargill, Rotorua and Tauranga.

The true spirit of contributing to community is researching and identifying the needs of the community, enlisting the necessary resources, implementing and helping initiate new projects or changes, then handing over to able successors. Trish Hanlen has given to her communities in this spirit and her altruistic, outstanding services have not gone unnoticed. The honour conferred on her is richly deserved.