The awards presented to the 16 leaders in the Rotorua community covered many areas of achievement, including the performing arts, youth leadership, business, community service, sports and environmental action.
One very surprised recipient of this award was none other than our own Northern Regional Leader - Alexis Lew Gor. Alexis has worked tirelessly in our ethnic community for many years and is a very worthy recipient.
Alexis - we are very proud of you. On behalf of AAPNZ - Congratulations and well done!!!!
Below is the article that appeared in the Daily Post.
ALEXIS LEW GOR
Rotorua Community Leadership Award
Alexis LewGor plays an important role in helping new immigrants settle in Rotorua.
PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER
Alexis LewGor laughs at the idea she won a leadership award for services to her community but it's her work that has helped many migrants find their way in their new homeland and city.
"I really didn't think what I was doing was leadership," she told The Daily Post.
Mrs LewGor immigrated to New Zealand from Lautoka in Fiji and, after working in the small forestry town of Murupara, she and her husband settled in Rotorua in 1997.
However, it took some time for her to settle in as she dealt with the residency process and she found it difficult to find work, she believes, because of her accent.
"When I moved into Rotorua, I spoke with other migrants that shared their experiences with me.
"We started an ethnic council where a handful of us from all different ethnicities got together to share the experience of settling into our adoptive country," she said.
They decided there would be other newcomers in future who would face the same experiences and obstacles and so they wanted to help. The group was the first in a long list of projects Mrs LewGor has since undertaken, using the collective experiences of migrants to help newcomers settle into the community and express their cultures.
Over the years she has been heavily involved with the Rotorua Fijian Association, the Rotorua Newcomers Network, the Rotorua Multicultural Business Council and the Pacific Island Trust.
"If you have a vision, and the people that you work with have some commonality in it, then by working together and sharing that vision, good results can come of it."
Mrs LewGor became president of the Rotorua Multicultural Council in 2005 and has helped run events that celebrate the city's cultural diversity, including GlobalFest, Polyfest, Whakanuia and U&I; Soccerfest and Can Cook events.
"My role has taught me a lot of things to do with managing people and leading by example."
On top of her community service work, Mrs LewGor is a full-time administrator for the PF Olsen group and balances her professional, community and personal lives.
Margriet Theron, who works with Mrs LewGor on several committees, described her as a strong leader who utilised the advice and skills of her colleagues to help migrants.
"It's a great characteristic of a leader to learn and to accept offerings from various members of her committee," Mrs Theron said. "She gives people the opportunity to celebrate their own language and customs and culture, while becoming a part of a new community."
The Rotorua Community Leadership Awards, at which Mrs LewGor and others were recognised, were established by Rotorua Mayor Kevin Winters, The Daily Post, the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce and the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust to celebrate Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Week.
Article courtesy of the Daily Post.
