News
PowerNet has won a national award for its community sponsorship of St John in Southland.
The Southland-based electricity management company’s entry was judged the best of four finalists in the national Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards community initiative category at a black-tie event in Auckland this week.
L/R: Cameron Madgwick – (PEPANZ CEO), Tim Brown – PowerNet, Murray Popenhagen – Peak Power Services Limited, Jason Franklin – PowerNet (CE), Debbie Pipson -St John, Alan Harper -PowerNet (Director), Kathryn McCoy – PowerNet, Hon Simon Bridges – Minister of Energy and Resources, Jo Babe – St John, Kent France – St John, Neil Boniface – PowerNet (Director), Aaron Sinclair – PowerNet.
Its entry, `Saving Lives Together’, focused on PowerNet’s community sponsorship of St John first aid courses and its public safety awareness initiatives in Southland. The sponsorship’s overarching goal is to have a first aid trained responder in every Southland home and to equip 30,000 Southland children with first aid skills.
“We’re absolutely stoked and proud to take out this category in a national award. It’s a real tribute to PowerNet’s on-going commitment and belief in this project and to the hard work and dedication of St John,” says Jason Franklin, PowerNet Chief Executive.
“In its operational work PowerNet interacts with Southlanders in all parts of the region every day. It’s very rewarding to be able to give back to Southland communities by building resilience at a grassroots level through strengthening first-aid capability and safety awareness.”
The sponsorship partnership continues to go ahead in leaps and bounds.
In the 2015-16 year, it meant St John could deliver first aid training to 5,234 Southland school students and 78 schools. A further 284 adults were trained through community courses.
There is a strong rural focus to the sponsorship. It includes regular collaboration between PowerNet and St John in safety promotional activities, including a shared site at this year’s Southern Field Days, and getting the safety awareness message out to rural people.