John Thomas
John Thomas, Auckland, received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to surf life saving. Mr Thomas joined Muriwai Surf Life Guard service in 1959 and is the patrol captain and President. As part of the Muriwai Life Guard Services Amenities Trust he has overseen the construction of a new surf lifesaving club and community centre. He has represented New Zealand at several world lifesaving development conferences and coached international representative and educational teams. He is credited with introducing the rescue tube to this country and has been involved in writing most New Zealand surf lifesaving manuals from the late 1970s onwards. He was the Auckland district coach for 27 years, and was chief executive of Surf Life Saving New Zealand from 2000 to 2002.