Dana Kirkpatrick and Curtis Hawkes

NEW ZEALAND — The Eastland Forestry Awards were presented in Gisborne on Friday night and the top award went to Curtis Hawkes, of Hawkes Logging. A crowd of about 500 celebrated the numerous nominees and winners put forward by their peers and their companies. Hawkes Logging came to the region from Northland, and Curtis Hawkes leads his crew on the extreme terrain of the East Coast. He took away the Skilled Professional of the Year 2024 trophy as well as Harvesting Excellence, Crew of the Year and Outstanding Health & Safety awards. East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, who presented the top award, said Hawkes had shown a high level of professionalism and work ethic in all aspects of the job. He was recognised as a true leader by example, “not asking anything of anyone that they themselves will not do”.