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The inaugural ‘Organisation of the Year Award‘ has been awarded to the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group in Northland by the Palmerston North-based Emergency Management Academy of New Zealand (EMANZ).

The Northland CDEM Group comprises six members; an elected representative from each of Northland’s three District Councils as well as the Northland Regional Council.  A senior Northland representative from both the police and fire service round out the membership.

Steve Glassey, Chief Executive of the Emergency Management Academy of New Zealand, says the award recognises the Northland group’s efforts during the major flooding that affected the region in late March this year.
The academy opened in November 2005 and - in partnership with Tai Poutini Polytechnic - delivers more than 80 courses nationally each year to 1000-plus students in the emergency management and technical rescue fields.  It also provides professional development for the Northland CDEM Group.

The award is one of four new awards announced recently during the first Tai Poutini Polytechnic Emergency Management Graduation in Palmerston North.

Mr Glassey says to be eligible for the award, organisations must have a CDEM mandate and have participated in a Tai Poutini Polytechnic and/or EMANZ training programme to increase their CDEM capabilities.  They must also have demonstrated best practice in professional development.

He says the Northland CDEM Group - one of four finalists for the Organisation of the Year Award - has done a “sterling job in picking up and applying the training to an exemplary level”.

Peter Jensen, Chairman of the Northland CDEM Group, says while the award has been made to the CDEM Group itself, he sees it as a wider tribute to the entire Northland community, which has now dealt with two devastating storms this year.

“Northlanders have shown incredible resilience and a real willingness to go the extra mile for their fellow community members.”