Simon: A long time ago, Winston Churchill said “if you’re going through hell, keep
going”. Our next award is for people who do that, and a whole lot more. The Attitude
Spirit Award recognises people with a powerful positive attitude to make the most of every
opportunity, however hard the circumstances.
Our sponsor is healthcare recruitment agency Drake Medox and we welcome General Manager
Gay Barton back to the Attitude Awards.
With her is a young man who has already packed a lot into his 20 years, and you saw him at
the start of the show leading the Haka. On top of that I can say he’s a bloody good
guy, please also welcome Cameron Leslie.
Cameron Leslie: These finalists, they’ve all got that in common, they all share that
common trait of perseverance I guess it could be called. They put a huge amount of time
and effort into helping other people in the community with disabilities and what not to
continue to lead normal lives.
The finalists for the Attitude Spirit Award are:
V/O: Melanie Sloan encourages her students to make the most of every opportunity.
Melanie: Just reminding the kids that having a go better than actually not doing anything.
V/O: Since she was a toddler she’s lived with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, she can’t
remember a day when she hasn’t been in chronic pain.
Melanie: I was told I would never be a teacher, it would be to physically demanding, so of
course what did I do, I applied for Teachers College just to prove them wrong. And obviously
because I love kids so, I’ve just never looked back.
V/O: Pati Umaga knows all about life’s highs and lows. In the 80’s his band The Holiday
Makers topped the music charts. But in 2005 Pati had a fall that left him with spinal
damage.
Pati: I slipped in the shower, fell and fractured my neck, it was just like an ACC ad that I
saw that I use to just mock all the time and think well, no one falls like that.
V/O: Pati established the Wellington Pacifica Disability Network and went on to make an
oral submission to the United Nations on the rights of people with disabilities. He also
wound up working alongside ACC as the Chair of the Serious Injury Advisory Group.
V/O: Elizabeth Charleston was the darling of the catwalk and the equestrian scene, but
5 years ago a fall from a horse left her with a serious head injury, it ended her riding
dreams and left her managing on going chronic fatigue. But she has slowly built a new life,
one with greater meaning.
Elizabeth: It’s given me a kick up the backside, I’ve had to give things another go, with
a different perspective on it.
V/O: Lizzy formed Think the Head Injury Network for Kiwis. She’s shifted from riding to
managing the New Zealand Show Jumping Team. She judges Equestrian Events and trains new
judges.
Gay Barton: Ok the winner of the Attitude Spirit Award sponsored by Drake Medox is Melanie
Sloan.
V/O: Melanie Sloan is known for having one of the biggest hearts in Omaru. She’s lived
every day of her life with the chronic pain of arthritis, yet her life is focused on the
needs of others. Her own school years were tough, today she back in the classroom as
a teacher, inspiring kids and determined no one will have the isolating experience that
she had.
Melanie: Probably when I was about 14 or 15 I decided that it was time to not dwell on
what is inevitable, is me having arthritis, but to build a bridge and kind of move on.
I set about to initially prove to everybody else that I can do anything and I’ve never
looked back since then.
V/O: Mel’s warmth ensures she gets the best out of her kids, she’s always there for
after school activities, involved from everything from sport to kapa haka. Outside of school
she takes the time to be a friend and mentor to a young woman with an intellectual disability.
Barely a minute goes by when she’s not focused on making other people’s lives better.
Melanie: I do it because I don’t like seeing people miss out when it could so easily somehow
influence their day, by just doing what I do.
V/O: She lives with physical pain everyday, hardly anyone knows the extent of her disability.
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis has caused her joints to deteriorate; it has to be managed
through a constant round of injections and pain medication. At 21 she had surgery to
replace both her hips and knees, her most recent surgery to reconstruct her shoulders,
just days before the Attitude Awards.
Melanie: Some days when I am sore or tired or both, after I’ve done something, whether
it’s go out and take a lesson or go out into the community and do different things,
I come home and I sit on my couch and I go oh.
V/O: Melanie pushes through, she was a teenager when she made that mental shift, she was going
to focus on the things she could do, rather than the things she couldn’t and she brings
that positively into the classroom.
Melanie: Kia ora well done, you’ve been practicing, awesome well done.
V/O: Melanie’s satisfied that she’s making a difference, but her own painful memories
linger.
Melanie: It was like going to school every day with that butterfly feeling in your stomach.
There were some days where I’d be fantastic and I’d be able to join in and do everything
like every other normal child. There were other days, when I was so sore that it just,
doing anything that involved moving or getting up and down off the floor, was just painful.
So I actually didn’t really enjoy bits of my schooling when I was younger.
V/O: Melanie was determined that she would change that for others. Now she’s proud
to be a role model in her own classroom.
Melanie: A disability isn’t something that should hold you back and I think the kids
need to see that disability isn’t actually something that can stop you from doing anything
you really want to do and I think what better place to teach kids that than to actually
be a teacher.
V/O: Melanie reluctant to talk about herself, her life is focused outward and on others.
The people of Omaru know her generosity and love her for it.
Melanie: I’m 29 so I’ve got a rather long way to go, so I might as well look at it in
a positive way and just to show everyone else just because I have a disability it doesn’t
mean that my life should be any less full or any less exciting or that I should enjoy
it any less.
I didn’t prepare anything because I’d thought everyone else was better than me.
Could you please put your hands together for my other Attitude contestants please. Someone
once said to me that life’s like a baseball game, you can play the game and try to get
to each base or you can knock one out of the park, so everyday I think people with disabilities
have to wake up and kind of hit it out of the park everyday, so it is attitude that
gets us through but it’s also the attitude of all our team mates, our family, all our
support, sponsors, everyone so thank you on behalf of everyone, thank you.
Simon: Tonight’s awards and the weekly Attitude series are funded by NZ on Air. There are
people who question the Government funding of television, not a debate I’m sure I need
to get into, but I’m sure you’ll agree that tonight’s celebration is a truly worthwhile
recipient.
The Attitude ACC Employer Award recognises an employer who provides outstanding opportunities
for people with a disability, helping them integrate with the wider workforce.
ACC has generously sponsored this award for three years in a row and it’s my pleasure
to welcome back, also for a third time, ACC’s Chief Executive, Dr Jan White.
And joining Jan is this country’s most capped women’s rugby player, the winner, along
with the Black Ferns of four successive Rugby World Cups, she is also an inspiration for
couch potatoes over the age of 40 with her phenomenal successes. Please welcome Anna
and Jan.
Anna Rich: It’s a real privilege to be here tonight to celebrate the Attitude Awards with
you all. The Award I’m presenting is the Attitude ACC Employer Award. This Award is
for an organization that demonstrates an exemplary level of commitment, innovation and support
for employees with disabilities. The finalists are:
V/O: The Halberg Trust was born from a belief that everyone should have the opportunity
to be involved in sport. Stacey Roche works in the field of a Sports Opportunity Officer.
Her role is to teach schools how they can include kids with disabilities in their sports
programmes. If special equipment is needed, she’ll source it, often with funding from
the Halberg Trust.
Steve Hall: They bring real skills and they have really different experience and they
have quite strong skills that stand in their own right that are part of why they have those
positions.
V/O: Bunnings Warehouse in Shirley Christchurch has been eager to provide jobs for people
with disabilities, this is Seaton he lives with an intellectual disability.
Seaton: Welcome to Bunnings.
V/O: This is Mark he’s deaf and this is Anthony, he lives with an intellectual disability
to.
Mark: Hello how’s it going.
Nick Stanbury: We have six people who work at Bunnings that have disabilities of varying
ranges, some are intellectual, we have a couple who are hearing impaired, but really it’s
not a barrier at all. They come along as some of the most enthusiastic really keen workers,
they’ve been here, a lot of them, some of them since the very beginning, we’re two
and a half years old now so and they give it everything.
V/O: Phil Melrose is a classic kiwi do it yourself type guy, when he broke his back
in 1991 he looked at the wheelchairs available and reckoned he could design something better,
you know what, he did. Almost 20 years on he has a respected international business
manufacturing mobility products and high performance wheelchairs. Seven of his twenty-five staff
are wheelchair users themselves, Phil sees no reason why it should be any other way.
Phil: I’ve never thought there was any real limiting factors with employing people with
disability and if they can do the job well, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Dr. Jan White: Tonight we’ve been witnessing the tremendous spirit shown by people with
disabilities, who are so determined to live life to the full. But it is also important
to acknowledge the employers who are providing them with opportunities to do this. Work is
such a powerful channel which we can all excel and meet our aspirations.
I’m honoured to present the Attitude ACC Employer Award to Melrose Kiwi Concept Chairs.
V/O: Phil Melrose is the type of guy who doesn’t see what all the fuss is about; he simply
expects to the get the most out of life. He barely skipped a beat after he fractured his
spine in 1991.
Phil: My background was racing north shore powerboats and after that, after my accident,
I went back to racing speedway by putting hand controls in.
V/O: He continued to race for 7 years, but when he saw a gap in the market, manufacturing
mobility products, he switched focus and has since devoted his life to creating an internationally
renowned company. But the company is as much about research and development as it is about
the bottom line. They’ve developed alongside the Wheel Blacks since the team first gained
a wild card entry to the 1995 World Champs. It was there that Melrose designed a rugby
chair superior to anything seen before and the Wheel Blacks became the team to beat.
They reckon the advance technology of their Melrose chairs is a big part of what has led
them to medal glory. Today Melrose is still behind our national wheel chair rugby team
and are casting their research and development net wider, developing customised chairs for
any sport you can think of.
Phil: Thanks very much and oh did you want to say something Mike, my business partner
Mike.
Mike: We really appreciate Attitude for all they do for the industry and it’s a real
great industry to be involved with and I mean we’re 19 years in and we just love it, it’s
a rewarding thing, day in day out and just thanks to everyone involved it’s been brilliant
thanks.