Bill Holland, Tauranga, MNZM, for services to the community
Mr Bill Holland is a partner of the Tauranga law firm Holland Beckett, and has fostered community philanthropy in Tauranga through the Acorn Foundation which he helped found in 2003. The Acorn Foundation, which uses gifts left by people in their wills, has since distributed more than $1 million dollars into Tauranga charities. He has travelled widely in New Zealand offering guidance on how to establish successful philanthropic community foundations. He was President of the Tauranga Rotary Club. Through Tauranga Rotary’s sister club in Kasaoka, Japan, he helped to establish an exchange programme with Tauranga Girls College and their counterparts in Kasaoka, which has run for 14 years. He was Chair of the Tauranga Boys College Board of Trustees for 12 years and is President of the Old Boys Association. He has been a Notary Public since 2007. Mr Holland is also a life member of the Tauranga Rowing Club. Mr Holland has received a number of awards including the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year Award in 2009.