Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
Margaret Goff with Nigel Muir of Sport Tasman. Muir nominated Goff in 2019 for an Eelco Boswijk Civic Award for her work in setting up and running a welfare centre distributing food and products to families disrupted by the Pigeon Valley Fire.
It was meant to be just making “a few sandwiches” for crews during the Pigeon Valley fires, but Margaret Goff’s initiative grew much bigger than she expected, and earned her an award she had never heard of. In 2019, Goff won the Eelco Boswijk Community Hero Award for her hard mahi (work) coordinating a welfare centre set up of her own volition. The centre catered to the needs of those affected by the wildfires and supported the people involved in them, including firefighters, frontline crew and families who had homes threatened by the blaze.