She and her business partner, Rochelle McLachlan, picked up the PAK’nSAVE Rangiora Community Enterprise Award at the North Canterbury Business Awards hosted by Enterprise North Canterbury.
Anderson says winning the award was all about the people who work with her on the Kaiapoi-based operation.
‘‘They all have a passion for helping people in their communities.
‘‘They also have a sense of humour and empathy for the people who use our service.’’
She says their business specialises in helping the more vulnerable in society.
‘‘We help the elderly, the special needs and their families move to meet appointments, to escape the confines of their homes, to get out and socialise in their communities.
‘‘I love being there to help others and being able to ensure people’s independence.’’
The former Special Education Transport Operations Manager took on the franchise for Driving Miss Daisy seven years ago, and at the time of the awards, she had nine cars on the road and employed 20 staff.
‘‘In December, following the awards, we split the business into two, with one operator looking after Rangiora and the west, while we now look after the North Canterbury Coastal area from Marshlands to Leithfield.
‘‘It was just too big an operation, so now I look after six vehicles from Kaiapoi, and we are still run off our feet here,’’ she says.
The 24/7 service is a pre-booked, prequoted transport service, ensuring person to person or door to door transport (not just from the footpath), making it different from regular taxis. ‘‘We have a large number of regular clients and regular bookings seeking help with their mobility issues.
‘‘Two of our vehicles are specialist wheelchair accessible vans, and four are cars.
‘‘Our team of drivers are all first-aid qualified and dementia friendly so that we can cater to everyone.’’
She says their market is traditionally elderly, but they cater to all types of people with mobility issues, and also their families.
‘‘We cover a wide slice of North Canterbury and our vehicles are putting 40-50,000km on the clock per vehicle each year, helping others to get about and enjoy life.’’
2025 was a good year for the Driving Miss Daisy North Canterbury franchise, as they also won the DMD NZ Supreme Franchisee of the Year award, and Heather says she was over the moon when her staff and she were recognised for their work at the North Canterbury Business Awards.
