She was wrong.
On Tuesday night at AJ Hackett's Kawarau Bungy centre, in front of about 50 invited guests, the former Gibbston Community Association chairwoman was honoured for her vision, determination and leadership in funding and developing the Gibbston River Trail, now part of the Queenstown Trail.
A speechless Mrs Stevens, supported by her husband Terry, burst into tears as a short film made by Alan Brady played detailing her efforts to form the $1.4 million 8.5km trail, officially opened on December 4, 2010 after six years' work.
The idea for the trail, enabling people to walk along the right bank of the Kawarau River, had been raised several times before Mrs Stevens, supported by the association, the Gibbston community, funders including the Community Trust of Southland, the Central Lakes Trust and the Lotteries Board, and 234 individuals and businesses in the Wakatipu, turned the dream into a reality.
In 2011, Gibbston was named the Community of the Year in the New Zealander of the Year Awards, in part because of the trail, while Mrs Stevens was honoured in 2012 with a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for services to the community.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden praised Mrs Stevens' dedication and effort. Mrs Stevens told the Otago Daily Times she was overwhelmed by Tuesday's event.
''It [the trail] wasn't even my idea ... it was the community's thing ... there was just this groundswell [of support] - it was never about me.
''I felt so incredibly grateful to be able to make New Zealand ... my home, that I just wanted to give something back to my community.''
