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Two new major appointments for Hill Laboratories

New Zealand's largest privately owned analytical laboratory, Hill Laboratories, has made two new appointments as part of a recent restructure, and welcomed aboard new operations general manager Anita Worrall and human resources manager Stuart Brown. Worrall replaces Matt Glenn who has recently taken up the position of chief executive. She started with Hill Laboratories last month as an external appointment from Aotea Pathology Ltd. (now Wellington SCL Ltd.) where she was general manager of t...

DWN partners with software gurus

Dairy Women's Network is excited to announce it has signed on two new professional partners who have the potential to revolutionise its members' accounting systems and overall farming businesses. Online accounting software companies Xero and Figured have just signed on as Network partners and DWN chief executive Zelda de Villiers said the Network is excited by the potential benefits members will receive through the partnership with workshops offered to its membership. "We are very excited t...

'Golden nuggets' from Meet the Media event

In October HMC Communications joined PR practitioners from all backgrounds at the annual PRINZ Meet the Media event. Some 'top tips' we took away from the journo panelists include: Think big: As news moves online, this means journalist are writing for a national audience. Your story needs more than a local appeal. Make 'clickable' content: Robots are in control of what you read. Stuff and the Herald, have computer algorithms that choose which stories appear on its home page and other pages a...

Dame Malvina Major to star in Hamilton’s Mary Poppins

Hamilton Operatic Society has this week announced that Dame Malvina Major will play a cameo role in its upcoming rendition of Mary Poppins. The internationally famous New Zealand opera singer will act as the Bird Woman when Mary Poppins comes to Founders Theatre from Friday 6 May to Saturday 21 May 2016. Chairperson Fiona Bradley said the Society, which is set to be the very first of nine musical theatre societies around New Zealand to stage the show in 2016, is thrilled to have Dame Malvina...

Hamilton’s Christmas Tree to shine brighter this year

New Zealand's biggest Christmas Tree, located in Hamilton's Garden Place, is expected to shine extra bright this year with over 3,000 new lights hanging on its branches. Hamilton Christmas Charitable Trust events manager Karen Watkins said the new lights have been added to ensure spectators get the "very best viewing experience this Christmas." "Families come year-on-year to see the Hamilton Christmas Tree light-up. It's a regional tradition for countless people, and it's very important to u...

New Zealand bus company celebrates 75 years

New Zealand bus company Pavlovich Transport Solutions and Services is celebrating a major milestone this month, having reached 75 years of business. And it's safe to say the business has come a long way from small beginnings as the provider of the first school bus route between Whatawhata and Hamilton. Today, 75 years on, Pavlovich has grown to operate a fleet of more than 70 buses and coaches nationwide. Its major Hamilton bus routes, The Orbiter, the free CBD Shuttle and Northerner, carry...

KCE Tree to ‘shine a light’ on hundreds of causes

Te Kuiti will this year become home to the first tree in New Zealand to 'shine a light' year-round on multiple special occasions and awareness events. Local energy retailer KCE has secured approval from the Waitomo District Council to hang hundreds of LED lights among the branches of a Norfolk Pine on Te Kuiti's Rora Street. The purpose of the tree, which will be dubbed the 'KCE Tree of Light', is to highlight special occasions and awareness events throughout the year which are important to...

Rotorua Trust lends a helping hand to SPCA

The Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust is again digging deep into its pockets to help out a local charity – this time in the form of the Rotorua SPCA and helping to fund a de-sexing programme through the animal shelter. As part of their mission to ensure the numbers of unowned or uncared for animals are minimised, every cat and dog rehomed through the SPCA is de-sexed as part of its adoption process – but this comes with a cost. Rotorua SPCA manager Eve Johnson says ensuring every cat or dog...

Child speakers to hit home Buddy Day messages

"Every week there is some story on the news where a child has been hurt or neglected. "That makes me feel sad – and sometimes mum has to turn the TV off because I get so upset. But as grownups you shouldn't turn the TV off. You should be saying, "No, this shouldn't be happening and how are we going to stop it? "You can all make a difference and take responsibility for growing happy kids. It costs nothing. It starts with having conversations and changing your attitudes towards how children...

Hamilton market comes off ‘fever pitch,’ fewer Auckland investors vying for homes

Hamilton, New Zealand – Lodge Real Estate's managing director Jeremy O'Rourke, today said October saw fewer Auckland investors in the Hamilton residential housing market which affected volumes sold. "Just 375 homes were sold in Hamilton during the month of October, a sharp decrease from 463 sold in September. September was an unusually large month and it was expected that the market would return to a more sustainable number after such an aberration. "However an additional factor contri...

Prime Minister visits Southwell School for Buddy Day

This morning Southwell School was proud to host Rt. Hon. Prime Minister John Key to help raise awareness for the upcoming Buddy Day, on 13 November 2015. His visit was in response to a touching letter written to him by Southwell student Jack Austin, who may well be upcoming awareness event's youngest and most passionate ambassador. "All I want is to make everyone aware of how important kids are,'" Jack wrote in his letter to the Prime Minister. "Kids matter. We are special, we are tomorro...

Canterbury AI tech still on the job after 56 years

Fifty-six years is a long time to stay in any one job, but it seems an especially long amount of time to spend working with your hand up a cow's rear end. At the ripe old age of 80, it's no surprise that Kevin Bell has outlasted the original farmers he worked for at the beginning of his AI career all those 56 years ago. The original farmers may have handed over their farms, but Kevin is still working – not as fast as he used to, he admits – but he's still working. Due to turn 81 in Jan...

‘Peachy Princess’ teaches important lessons at Hamilton playcentre

The children and parents alike at River Downs Playcentre in Hamilton have immersed themselves in New Zealand's annual awareness event, Buddy Day. These Hamilton tots have joined children and youth from across Hamilton, Auckland, Tauranga, Ruapehu and Wellington to decorate Buddies in preparation for adults to 'care' for them on Buddy Day (13 November, 2015). 'Buddy Day' revolves around life-size cardboard 'Buddies' that are decorated by children and then adopted by adults, taken into communi...

Locals to name Hamilton Christmas Elf

The Hamilton Christmas Elf needs a name, and children at Fairfield Kindergarten were the first to have their say this week. The friendly life-sized elf has been introduced to Hamilton this year by the Hamilton Christmas Charitable Trust in an effort to make Christmas in Hamilton "even more magical" for local children and families. In the coming months, the elf is set to attend three renowned Christmas events: Carols by Candlelight, New Zealand's Biggest Christmas Tree and The Hamilton Christ...

More than $11,000 raised for chopper at KCE fundraiser

Members of the Waitomo and Otorohanga communities rallied together to raise a whopping $11,200 for the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter last week. The money was raised at a quiz night and auction fundraising event hosted by local electricity retailer King Country Energy (KCE) at the Waitomo Club on Thursday 29 October. KCE community relations manager Helen Peacock said more than 120 Waitomo residents attended the event "for a night of fun, laughs and goodwill". "Overall, 29 team tickets ...

Black Caps visit Hamilton holiday programme to meet Buddies

Black Caps' Tom Latham and Kane Williamson visited the Artmakers Holiday Programme in Hamilton yesterday to pick up their Buddies in the lead up to national awareness event Buddy Day on 13 November. Buddy Day, established in Hamilton in November 2011 by national child advocacy agency Child Matters, aims to start conversations and drive change about the role adults play in the lives of children – from preventing child abuse to providing great environments for children to flourish. In its fi...

New ATC CEO: “there’s no one size fits all”

New ATC CEO, Chris Hubbard, is stepping into his role with a promise to move away from a "one-size-fits all" approach to education. Hubbard was appointed at ATC last month and replaces founding CEO Trevor Wilson as head of the educational institution - one of New Zealand's largest Private Training Establishments (PTE's). ATC's four divisions are Vision College, TrainMe, Instant, and Leadership Development New Zealand. It has campuses in Hamilton, Christchurch Auckland and Pukekohe. And wit...

NZ gluten-free boom prompts new testing service

New Zealand's largest privately owned testing laboratory, Hill Laboratories, has announced it is offering a gluten testing service with the fastest turnaround-time in the Country. The company has introduced the service in response to the rapid increase in consumer demand for gluten free products, which according to Coeliac New Zealand Incorporated, is increasing in NZ by an estimated 26% annually-1. Technologist, Sam Marengo, said Hill Laboratories developed the test to ensure those purchasi...

Businesses shifting Health and Safety management systems online

Businesses shifting Health and Safety management systems online Waikato human resources consultancy, Everest Group, said a trend is emerging with many businesses switching from paper-based Health and Safety management systems to online tools. Karen Wells, who started with the Everest Group last month, said "We're seeing more and more businesses who are extremely concerned with ensuring their systems are compliant with the Health and Safety Reform Bill, which was passed by parliament last week...

New skin cancer detection service just in time for the sun

Waikato GP Dr Sakkie Fourie is offering a new skin scanning service to Waikato patients that cuts in half the time and cost of similar services currently available to them. Dr Fourie works as a general practitioner as part of the wider general practice team at Avalon Medical Centre in Hamilton, from which he also runs the skin scanning clinic. Dr Fourie trained in the Austrian skin scanning system, which is similar to Mole Mapping, in Brisbane. He said the service is common practice in Eu...

eCoast scientists working to reduce tsunami risk in New Zealand

Raglan, New Zealand – Efforts in tsunami hazard mitigation by Raglan-based eCoast Marine Consulting and Research are in-line with recommendations found in a recent report produced by the New Zealand Earthquake Commission. Key findings from the EQC-commissioned report 'Tsunami risk facing New Zealand' released earlier this month include the need to complete evacuation planning, improve early warning and communication systems and provide better information for decision–makers during tsunami ...

Shifting the Kiwi ‘can-do attitude’ to ‘can-do safely’

Dairy Women's Network is shifting its members' Kiwi can-do attitude to a 'can-do safely' attitude with its new Dairy Modules titled 'Step up to Safety' being offered from late October. The Step up to Safety workshops are run by DWN members who are experienced in the field of Health and Safety and are supported by expert organisations Worksafe NZ and Hazardco. "The most important thing participants will get out of these free workshops is a 90-day Health and Safety action plan. They will lea...

Buddy Day used as tool to fulfil community transformation plan

In year five of running community engagement event Buddy Day, organisers are excited to announce Buddy Day is back on 13 November 2015 – now in five North Island locations. Local iwi Ngāti Rangi will host Buddy Day in the Central Plateau towns of Ohākune, Raetihi and Waiouru this year – further widening the spread of the national event's messages and learnings. Ngāti Rangi pou arahi (chief executive) Andy Gowland-Douglas was quick to sign Ngāti Rangi Trust up to locally host Buddy Da...

eCoast wins major research grant to study New Zealand surf breaks

Raglan-based eCoast Marine Consulting and Research has been awarded a major research grant to study New Zealand's famous surf breaks. As part of a consortium led by the University of Waikato, funding was awarded from New Zealand's Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment as part of its 2015 Science Investment programme. The three-year project entitled 'Remote Sensing, Classification and Management Guidelines for Surf Breaks of National and Regional Significance' will gather baseline d...

Free service boosts feed efficiency for dairy farmers

In a bid to help dairy farmers in tight times, GrainCorp Feeds has announced that 150 clients nationwide will receive free access to a feed forecasting, tracking and monitoring service. GrainCorp Feeds is working with technical specialists DairyClub to provide additional on-farm assessment, monitoring and technical support alongside Tracker™, an online tool which measures current milk production and shows how the farmer can use supplementary feed to achieve maximum return. GrainCorp Feeds...