Ahuroa firefighters

It was a night of firsts at the Ahuroa Volunteer Fire Brigade on July 18.

Former chief fire officer Alastair Todd became the brigade’s first Gold Star recipient and along with former chief fire officer Mike Bridge, was honoured with the brigade’s first Life Honorary Memberships.

Both Todd and Bridge were foundation members of the brigade, which formed in 1996. It started as a rural fire force before coming under the umbrella of Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) in 2017.

Todd received his award from long-serving Warkworth fire officer Gary Aitken, now retired, who made the presentation on behalf of the Gold Star Association. Aitken said that over Todd’s 25 years with the brigade, there were 1136 musters. His attendance equated to 98.33 per cent. Underlining the significance of the award, he said that there were 14,000 professional and volunteer firefighters in New Zealand, but less than five per cent would ever receive a Gold Star.

FENZ group manager Katie Pocock thanked Todd for his perseverance and commitment in helping to set up the Ahuroa brigade.

“You have left a legacy,” she said.

Todd, who has since retired from the brigade, said it had been a pleasure to serve the community.

“There’s a lot of things that firefighters see that they wish they hadn’t seen, but in the end the good outweighs the bad,” he said. “It’s amazing how the time flies.”

Bridge’s Life Membership recognised his contribution to the brigade especially during its early years, when he had volunteered a huge amount of time to fixing and modifying hand-me-down equipment. Both the initial fire station and the current one were built on his land.

Other awards presented on the night included a 21year service award for Alan Davie-Martin, who joined the brigade soon after its formation, and the brigade value awards which went to James Brady (commitment), Chris Taylor (teamwork), Judy Brady (dignity), Anthony Dunman (positivity) and Poppy Woods (courage).

Joel Amery won the Most Improved Firefighter and Best Attendance awards, and Judy Brady was named Medical Responder of the Year. The appointment of deputy chief fire officer Chris Taylor was also formalised on the night. The partners and families of the recipients were thanked for the huge part they played in the brigade.

KGA Chartered Accountants

When economic times are challenging, businesses can benefit from accountancy advice that does more than crunch the numbers.

That’s according to the new owners of KGA Chartered Accountants in Warkworth, Jen Smith and Lize Van Schalkwyk.

“It’s tough for businesses at the moment and people are definitely looking for ways to cut costs,” Lize says. “Margins are being squeezed, and businesses have to be careful they are not making a loss without realising it.”

Jen says this is where a good relationship with your accountant can be invaluable.

“We work alongside our clients, help them set goals and achieve them,” she says.

“It can take away some of the worry and stress when you understand your accounts and what’s happening in your business on a month-by-month basis.”

KGA, which employs seven accountants and three administration staff, has been in Warkworth for nearly 50 years.

Jen and Lize have both been with the company for nearly two years, although they have come to Warkworth on quite different pathways.

Jen grew up on the Hibiscus Coast, worked for BDO in Auckland for three years after graduating from Auckland University and then spent four years overseas – a year in Brisbane working on fraud investigations and three years in London auditing charitable organisations. Prior to joining KGA, she worked for Skywork. She is passionate about “walking alongside business leaders to ensure they are making decisions on sound financial advice”.

Lize, on the other hand, immigrated to NZ with her family from South Africa four years ago, after spending 10 years working in small business lending. She says the experience gave her a wealth of experience across all facets of running a business, from risk to human resources. Her speciality is problem solving, whether that is a tax issue or improving operating systems.