Ian Coard (Riverton)

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Coastguard

Riverton resident Ian Coard has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the Coastguard, an honour he said he was "blown away" by when he received the news in March.

After more than three decades volunteering for Coastguard New Zealand, Mr Coard has one key message he's passionate about spreading: wear a lifejacket.

He joined the Coastguard in his thirties and has been instrumental in the successful management of search and rescue for a number of major incidents in the Foveaux Strait. 

Within the Riverton Unit, he's held the positions of Safety Officer, Coxswain, Search and Rescue Coordinator, and President. 

For the last 15 years Mr Coard has been a Coastguard Boating Education tutor teaching a wide variety of courses including Boatmaster, VHF Certificate, Day Skipper, and inboard and outboard engineering.

As an instructor, he said he enjoyed seeing people come out of their shells to become confident in their training. 

During his term as Coastguard New Zealand President, he oversaw the first-ever Government funding agreement for the Coastguard, which previously depended solely on fundraising.

Mr Coard is currently the Independent Member representing the search and rescue volunteer sector on the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council and works at Environment Southland as its Deputy Harbourmaster.

Mr Coard said if there was one final thing that he could do in the rest of his time in the Coastguard, he would like to see a national policy instigated by the Government to make it mandatory for every person in vessels under six metres to wear a lifejacket. 

"Lifejackets are a must. If you could achieve that, it would be absolutely magic."