Award winner Maria Burnett, 27, said winning the award felt really special and it was a good example of how the recreation sector was putting a lot of effort into the future.
"I realise that I’m very lucky to be one of those people that is getting to benefit from that."
As well as her full-time role as the Central Otago District Council’s parks officer — planning and strategy, Ms Burnett was also on the Recreation Aotearoa Board, co-chair of Generate Network NZ, for emerging professionals in that sector, and had also recently been secretary of the New Zealand Parks leaders forum.
Originally an urban planner, Ms Burnett saw lots of things that could be done differently but she was not able to change.
She discovered the parks sector by accident.
"I didn’t know that there was such thing as being able to plan for parks and open spaces and recreation . . . it is the best thing in the world."
When she started off in the parks and recreation sector she focused on learning as much as she could and contributing across the wider sector both nationally and internationally.
Ms Burnett said she felt very lucky she found something she enjoyed doing and she wanted to keep doing it.
She had a wide range of projects to work on. Her current work with the council was to think about the next 30 years of parks, recreation and play.
She said there were some really exciting things coming and she was excited for Central Otago’s future.
"It’s hard to say just how great the CODC is to work for. Smaller councils are such a great place to work as they give you so much experience and I have been supported from day one."
A satisfying part of her role was ensure when council was was making decisions regarding parks and recreation that they were correctly informed about the important impact they have on the community.
"I just want to make sure that . . . when these decisions are being made, that the right information is there for our elected members in our community," she said.
Ms Burnett said she felt very grateful to be able to contribute to the district that she served.
