Michael Merrick, of Waitara, QSM, for services to the community
Michael Merrick is a Councillor on the New Plymouth District Council and Secretary of the Taranaki Heritage Trust. He was Deputy Chairperson of the North Taranaki SPCA. He managed the New Plymouth Community Food Bank and organised four Christmas Food Drives. He has been Chairperson of Friends Plus, which assists housebound seniors, and of the Taranaki Community Law Trust. He has written biographies for hospice patients and published books on New Plymouth historic identities. He was part of the New Plymouth Genealogy Society. Mr Merrick sat on the Board of Trustees for Fitzroy Primary School and Sacred Heart Girls College.