It took a subtle hint from his colleague and nominator Barbara Eaden that maybe he should open the email for him to realise the message was real.
Mrs Eaden said her colleague and friend of 15 years was "a humble man, full of personality and a love for community, youth and music.''
She said she was happy he was finally being recognised for the "huge amount'' of work he did for the Wanaka community.
Mr Tamati's time as a volunteer began years ago, when his young family were in bed and he wanted something other than television to fill his evenings.
"I just started attending different meetings.
"Things like the A&P Show meetings and then it progressed on to when my daughter started primary school and I put myself up for election for the board of trustees.''
More than 10 years on, his volunteer work had "snowballed.''
Today he is on seven committees.
He is involved with projects including the Matariki celebrations, the rodeo, the Wanaka Show, the Wanaka Medical Centre and the Wanaka Community Patrol.
Mr Tamati said he struggled with the concept of people seeing him as a deserving recipient of the hero award.
"When I found out about it, I was absolutely surprised.‘‘I don't think I put in as many hours into the voluntary work as other people and that's why I struggle with people who look at me and say ‘wow, you're just amazing'.''
Asked what his favourite volunteer role was, Mr Tamati said it was too hard to choose.
However, establishing the Aspiring Young Musicians musical instrument library had been "special.''
"The instrument library provides top-end instruments like brass instruments to families that perhaps can't afford for their child to be owning one.
"The idea to create the library originated four years ago, but it required a lot of homework.''
The scheme eventually began in 2014.
Mr Tamati said the satisfaction he gained from his community work was huge.
"I thrive on making people happy.
"If I can eliminate the stress for someone else and apply my skills to make the job easier for them, it makes everything worth it.''
