Thursday 3 May 2012: 10am

For services to the New Zealand Fire Service. Mr Jim Vernon has been a member of the Taihape Volunteer Fire Brigade since 1957. He was a member of the critical incident stress management team for the Western Fire Region for 17 years, providing valuable counselling to Fire personnel after traumatic events. He no longer attends call-outs, but staffs the Taihape Fire Station watch-room and radios, and can often be found at the station well after crews have returned home. When he was in active service, he had a stretch of nine years of 100% attendance rates to call-outs, training and meetings. For more than 41 years he has been a member of the Taihape Search and Rescue, and has been responsible for manning and maintaining radios. He also trains volunteer search and rescue members in radio use and etiquette. Mr Vernon received the United Fire Brigades' Association 25 year Gold Star in 1982, the United Fire Brigades' Association 50 year Gold Star in 2007 and the New Zealand Fire Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, also in 2007.