Mick Ahern wins Industry Service Award
Industry stalwart, Mick Ahern, has been awarded the Horticulture New Zealand Industry Service Award for 2022.
Miriana Stephens, the recipient of the President's Trophy for leadership, is a director of Wakatū Incorporation - which grows apples, kiwifruit and pears in its Motueka Orchards under the Kono Incorporated business. She is also involved in several governance groups, is a founding member of the Primary Sector Council and in 2016 was awarded the Aotearoa New Zealand Māori Woman Business Leader award.
Industry Service Award recipient Mick Ahern has been a figure in the horticulture industry for over 40 years, starting off with the initial development of the kiwifruit exporting industry and expanding his career to cover such diverse crops as onions and strawberries. HortNZ president Barry O'Neil says that most recently Ahern has been involved in efforts to boost NZ strawberry exports to Vietnam.
In August, Danny Bearsley won the Bledisloe Cup award, covered recently in Hort News.
O'Neil says that of the two September award winners, Mick is "known for his common sense and ability... to sum up the situation, provide wise counsel while pointing to the best - if not only - way forward".
"Miriana is shaping the future of the horticulture industry by example and is passionate that as growers we need to ensure we are good kaitiaka of the land."
Stephens told Hort News that she is grateful to receive the award on behalf of the families and communities she serves.
"This award recognises all of us, and we excited about the possibilities and our future while still acknowledging that at the moment things are tough in the hort sector," she says.
"The impact of Covid-19 is causing problems with getting workers and ensuring the overall wellbeing of our workforce. That is why we must work together as a sector to realise our potential and what we can achieve together, despite our challenges."
Ahern says he supports industry service awards as they highlight how young people can have a career in horticulture, even if growing is not their thing.
"The horticulture industry seems very grower-oriented but there are many, many worthwhile careers in other, important areas of the industry."
