Heather Walker. A Giant of a community Good Sort.

Heather Walker
Bowater Toyota CEO Tony Bowater presents Heather Walker with her BMG Good Sorts Dinner Voucher at the new home of the Fico Finance Nelson Giants.


The winner of April's BMG Good Sorts, Heather Walker, is a through and through Good Sort. One of those understated individuals that is in it for all of the right reasons - to just help people. A true community minded person that really does not relish being in the spotlight for what she considers as just "doing her bit". All in all we can honestly say that she is a giant in the community.

Heather is also a giant behind the scenes of a group of athletes we have a deep connection with, another of our very own special community interests, the Fico Finance Nelson Giants. As you can see by the giant Giants poster displayed on the back of the new Bowater Toyota Parts Van the team at Bowater Toyota are also pretty passionate about the Giants.
Heather has been a Giant's volunteer for over 5 years and tirelessly works away behind the scenes. She loves the team and is a well respected part of the organisation. She is passionate about basketball and also works a lot with children and adults that have disabilities by bringing basketball into their lives. It is for this that she was nominated by a close member of the community. You can see the nomination article by clicking here.

Heather was a bit surprised to win this award, with her saying when we caught up with her "you just keep doing what you do, and you don't expect these things".
Well Heather, you ought to expect these things sometimes as one good turn deserves another as they say. The Bowater Motor Group are pleased to be able to offer up this recognition to those in our community doing good work, those that dedicate themselves to a cause without desire for praise or financial kickbacks, those people in the background like Heather.

Part of her busy community schedule is to help coordinate the Fulton Hogan Basketball League. She has done this since it started. It is an inclusive sport open to all, but it is primarily for people with disabilities, allowing them to share in the joy of the game she is so passionate about. The league is for all ages and has been running for 9 years and now has 130 players. The league games take place on a Sunday 4-7.30pm at Saxton Stadium with a practice session during the week. Players range from 11-50 years and there are three divisions depending on ability.

As well as this Heather is also part of the team organising other young basketball teams such as the Fulton Hogan Junior Jammers, a team for which she does voluntary coaching. The Junior Jammers hold sessions at Saxton Stadium for those with supported needs age 5-12 years. These sessions are suitable whether you have played basketball before or are new to the game. Ball skill exercises are carried out with a game towards the end of each session. It also provides a pathway to the Fulton Hogan Basketball League.

You can learn more about the Fulton Hogan Basketball League, as well as the Junior Jammers by clicking here to go to the Inclusive Sports website.

Another of the organisations that Heather is involved with is the Cancer Society.
She does some office work for them, as well as being a part of the team behind Daffodil Day and the massive Relay for Life, a great community event that does so much great work for local cancer patients and their carers. 

 

Keep up the great work Heather, it is very much appreciated, and we hope that this Dinner Voucher not only means that you can take some time out for yourself, but also allow it to represent the collective appreciation for an amazing effort in community support.
We are personally very proud to be able to bring to light what a valuable asset you are to a whole spectrum of our community.

Heather has a grandson visiting her soon so a $200 Smugglers Dinner Voucher is going to come in handy.

If you would like to nominate someone that you think is a BMG Good Sort click here to cruise to the nomination page on the Nelson Mail website.

 


Whilst Bowater Toyota is a key sponsor of the Fico Finance Nelson Giants we have no say in the selection of the recipients of the BMG Good Sorts awards. This keeps the award free from bias.