Ms Mary Garner, QSO of Nelson, for services to the community
Ms Garner has worked at the Nelson Tasman Region Hospice Trust for almost 30 years. As the Manager of Volunteers Services, she has developed a database of more than 260 volunteers, including in-patient-unit volunteer assistants and life story writers. She held three-day training sessions to prepare volunteers for their work and consistently followed up on the volunteers’ well-being with phone calls, visits, training and guidance. She is involved with Volunteer Nelson and regularly attends meetings and forums. She is now the Volunteer Manager of Patient Services and works to ensure that the Hospice provides high-quality care to its patients. Since 2002, the Hospice has recorded more than 8,000 volunteer referrals, and Ms Garner’s contributions have had an enduring positive impact on the local community.