After more than 40 years of voluntary service, Brian Ramsay has become the first recipient of the Nelsonian Civic Award.
The Stoke resident served 12 years in the New Zealand Defence Force before giving decades of service to Nelson through his involvement in local remembrance ceremonies, such as those for Anzac Day, Purple Poppy Day and the Boer War; his history volunteering as a community patroller, with Victim Support and at Broadgreen Historic House; and his involvement with Abbeyfield and IHC.
Nelson City councillor Mel Courtney was “proud” to nominate Brian for the award for his “life-long” volunteerism, which he says was longer than many people’s careers.
“He’s always impressed me… he’s got dignity, he’s got a work ethic in the community far above the average person, I would suggest,” Mel says.
“He just seems to have that natural skill of getting things done and bringing people on the journey with him.”
He could not highlight specific standouts of Brian’s voluntary community initiatives, saying that “anything and everything that he’s been involved with” has been a valuable contribution to the city and the community spirit.
“Brian is there for the long haul… and so willing to do whatever he can to help in any particular sphere that he’s in.”
Brian helped establish the Nelson Cadet Unit in 1987, and one of his first cadets was Tim Hoffman, who joined in 1991.
“He was just consummate, always professional in the way he approached anything, and he’s still the same now,” says Tim, who himself is a former commander of the Nelson Cadet Unit.
“The standard that he set was just phenomenal, really. He was able to teach and train, and for an era that still had a few rough edges, he certainly wasn’t like that.”
Brian had an “immeasurable” impact on the youth under his leadership, and that had “intergenerational” flow-on effects, Tim adds.
“There are children of people whom he led as cadets who are now cadets or have been cadets. Nelson Cadet Unit Nelson wouldn’t be what it is without Brian.”
Nelson Returned and Services’ Association president Barry Pont has known Brian for more than 50 years. Brian is a lifetime member and patron of the organisation.
“He’s been one of those loyal RSA members. You give him a task, and he gets it done,” Barry says.
“You wouldn’t get a better guy to be the first [civic award] recipient.”
During his award ceremony on Thursday, Brian says it was a “special surprise” to be nominated and that he had initially declined the award until Mel “pulled rank”.
“It’s a real pleasure to be acknowledged, and to be the first person to be acknowledged with this new mayoral award is something I wasn’t expecting,” he says.
“There’s an old saying: We work because we have to, we volunteer because we want to. That pretty much wraps it all up.”
He characteristically used his award ceremony to highlight the support and work of other volunteers.
“Without that team behind me, then I wouldn’t be here today. The most important person in that team is my wife, Diane. All of those community organisations that I’m on, Diane has been there with me for the same amount of time.”
Nelson City Council created the Nelsonian Civic Award in February to recognise those who have made an “outstanding contribution” to the city.
Elected members nominate a potential recipient who is then approved by the council.
It is expected that an award will be bestowed quarterly.
Mel refers to the city’s numerous, dedicated volunteer workforce when asked if Brian would be a tough act for future nominees to follow.
“Not in Nelson, no,” he replies.
“The Nelson community could not function without its volunteers.”
