National Excellence Awards
Celebrating Excellence
On October 17, we celebrated our annual National Excellence Awards at the Hyundai Marine Sports Centre, MC’d by Monique Bradley. This highly anticipated event shone a spotlight on the outstanding achievements of our ākonga, staff, and volunteers across Aotearoa.
We proudly celebrated the involvement of over 27,000 students and others across New Zealand who have been part of the Foundation’s programmes including Kiwi Can, Stars, Career Navigator and Project K over the previous 12 months.
As we approach the 30th anniversary of the founding of the not-for-profit organisation by mountaineer Sir Graeme Dingle and his partner Jo-anne Wilkinson, Lady Dingle, we reflect on their vision. They aimed to help Kiwi children and youth develop courage and resilience through self-belief. Their message encourages young people to realise that ‘what they have inside is greater than any obstacle.’
The Excellence Awards are a celebration of the next generation of successful young New Zealanders, recognising their accomplishments, the challenges they’ve faced, and their personal development. The event also pays tribute to the dedicated volunteers and employees of the Foundation, who have devoted their lives to supporting the youth of Aotearoa.
To relive the inspiring moments from the National Excellence Awards, you can watch the livestream of the event here.
The full list of 2024 Award Recipients is as follows:
Kiwi Can Outstanding School Award
Fairhaven School – Western Bay of Plenty
Sponsored by New Zealand Steel
Outstanding Leader Award
Jeremy Birchall – Far North
Sponsored by Bidfood
Stars - Outstanding Contribution from a Peer Mentor
Grace Motusaga – Auckland
Jacqueline Colliar – Waikato
Akshita Saxena – Western Bay of Plenty
Inga Hiko – Auckland
Sponsored by Stride
Career Navigator - Outstanding Achievement of a Participant
Project K - Excellence Award
Layla Mackenzie – Western Bay of Plenty
Cruz Iako – Auckland
Will Kelly-Harding – Western Bay of Plenty
Bronté Woolley – Canterbury
Sponsored by Kathmandu
Outstanding Secondary School Award
Hornby High School – Canterbury
Presented by Co-founder Jo-anne Wilkinson
Best Community Project Award
Bay of Islands College – Far North
Sponsored by Mitre 10
Outstanding Staff Award
Sian Neary – Canterbury
Terry Faleva’ai – Waikato
Presented by National Board Chair Eric Lucas
Volunteer Award
Matthew Preece – Marlborough
Presented by CEO Jo Malcolm Black
Sir Edmund Hillary Achievement Award
Spencer McNeil – Western Bay of Plenty
Presented by Co-founder Sir Graeme Dingle
