The award was presented by the Federations chief executive, Conor English, at the Federation of Maori Authorities (FOMA) conference in Hawke’s Bay last month. Though the award had been announced at the Feds annual conference, Smiler was overseas at the time so the presentation was delayed until the FOMA conference.
Smiler joins an elite group of recipients of the award including Sir Graeme Harrison, Andrew Ferrier, John Penno and Craig Hickson.
The Feds noted Smiler’s drive to establish the Miraka Dairy Company of which he is chairman and his chairmanship of Wairarapa Moana, a large Maori incorporation in the central North Island which runs 12 dairy units and 10,000 cows. It is a major supplier to Miraka.
Smiler is a former partner in Ernst and Young. He has a wide range of business interests and is chairman of the Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee.
Smiler says he is very proud of the award, and pleased to share it with the people who have helped him along the way, especially his mother who gave him the leadership model he followed.
“This is a great thing for Maori. By awarding this prize the federation is recognising it brings a great opportunity for ourselves and the development of Maori.
“Maori and the federation are working together and sharing ideas and opportunities with our farming community and that’s a good thing. This award recognises we are both a part of the industry and that we need to work together and we are in fact doing that.”
The trophy for the award is a miniature silver cream can – quite appropriate Smiler says. “Especially so when you think that it was Apirana Ngata who created the first dairy cooperative on the East Coast. They collected milk in cream cans so that is quite significant to me.”
