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Following the conferral of a Knighthood last year, the awards of New Zealander of the Year 2004 and Entreprenur of the Year, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Otago University and many other accolades, Sir Eion’s philanthropic and other commuity services have been further acknowledged by his recent award of 2010 Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year.

Sir Eion said today (Thursday February 4) he was “humbled” to be recognised as the Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year in a national awards ceremony.

Sir Eion, 65, speaking following the Auckland gala awards presentation on Wednesday night, won the award for his lifetime of philanthropic service.

“It was an amazing night because it recognised a great variety of people across all sectors of the community, and I was proud to be amongst those,”  he said.

Sir Eion said there were many other people who “did a lot of good” who were not always recognised for their work.

“Hopefully this award will alert people to the fact that they can get a lot of pleasure out of helping organisations, as I do.”

Sir Eion said he was looking forward to spending more time working with Queenstown Resort College, of which he is chairman and founder . He is also involved with a full range of education, youth, health, community trusts and financial organisations of which he is either chairman, trustee or board member as well as pioneering IT projects such as the Fundit mortgage auction platform .

As part of his award, Sir Eion received a $5,000 donation towards his work from principal sponsor Kiwibank.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with the money as yet, but it may be going to Diabetes Research or something in Queenstown. I certainly will be spending it and probably adding to it because I’ve already made some serious commitments to helping out organisations such as the Wakatipu Trails Trust.”

Queenstown Resort College CEO Charlie Phillips said if Sir Eion’s contribution to the college was anything to measure him by, then he thoroughly deserved the award.

“The faith, financial support and personal involvement he has demonstrated for such a pioneering enterprise as QRC has been amazing, and to do this in such a positive and proactive way is something you can’t help but admire.

“Without Sir Eion, QRC and many other enterprises would not exist, meaning New Zealand is a better place with him in it.”

Sir Eion’s support of new ventures is focussed on projects which, in particular,  provide benefits to a wide range of people - for instance he sees the Fundit mortgage auction platform as providing  “a real win win for everyone, borrowers and lenders alike- it is a highly efficient and effective tool for both lenders sourcing loan business and for borrowers surveying the market for the best deal.”  Sir Eion believes that, technologically, at least, this platform is a world leader and is capable of being exported to other jurisdictions. While not all New Zealand banks are yet on board, he believes it should be  “a no brainer for them, once they get over the fear of being exposed to open and transparent competition and realise there are real benefits.” “BNZ and  Kiwibank, traditionally the two most competitive lenders, have no problem with that, so it is expected that the others will come to the same point, hopefully sooner rather than later, so that the full benefits can be realised by both lenders and borrowers in this market.”  he said.

FUNDIT SUPPORTS DIABETES RESEARCH AND THE L.A.M TRUST.

Fundit supports Diabetes Research through the Edgar National Centre for Diabetes Research ( see www.otago.ac.nz/diabetes/about.html) which was established as part of the University of Otago Advancement Campaign and officially opened its doors on the 12th November 2003.  The purpose of the ENCDR is to promote collaborative research amongst those involved in diabetes-related research in departments in the University of Otago, and to facilitate collaboration where appropriate with researchers and health care providers throughout New Zealand and internationally. The research conducted at the centre involves a range of disciplines, including nutrition, epidemiology, health services research, Māori health, biostatistics, public health, microbiology, genetics and biochemistry.

The research aims to reduce the incidence of diabetes and its complications by finding new ways to prevent and manage diabetes. The key objectives are:

• to undertake excellent research in the field of diabetes
• to promote and facilitate national and international collaboration amongst researchers in the field of diabetes
• to assist and participate in guideline and policy development at local, national and international levels
• to share diabetes knowledge and skills at community, teaching and professional levels
• to develop cultural competencies in the field of diabetes research.

Fundit also supports the LAM Trust of New Zealand (see www.lam.org.nz/index.html).

Established in Auckland in 1999, the New Zealand LAM Trust is one of a number of patient and family organisations around the world working alongside scientists, clinicians and researchers, raising awareness about the disease Lymphangioleiomyomatosis  (LAM) which is a rare, progressive and often fatal lung disease that strikes young women in the prime of their lives causing symptoms which include shortness of breath, chest pain, cough and lung collapse. and helping raise funds to support research into its cause and ultimately its cure.

THE CHALLENGE

• To help to transform the vision of a future without LAM into a reality
• To intensify our efforts to raise funds for scientific research
• To educate general practitioners to recognise early symptoms of LAM
• To identify and provide support for every LAM patient in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES

• To provide support for persons diagnosed with LAM and their families
• To become the source of information for persons affected with LAM
• To publish educational materials on LAM for all interested individuals
• To raise awareness of LAM, to improve early detection and diagnosis
• To maintain a database of persons throughout the country who have LAM
• To foster and fund research aimed at finding a cause of and cure for LAM and ultimately, preventative measures
• To sponsor conferences, workshops and scientific meetings related to LAM
• To raise money to support the goals.

With support for New Zealand women suffering from LAM and fundraising for research as the central focus, the New Zealand LAM Trust is committed to the above challenges.