At an event in Dunedin on Thursday the LandSAR stalwart received an excellence award from the organisation for his dedication to the job.
In his 40 years with LandSAR, he was Amateur Radio Emergency Communications team leader for 22 years, national adviser to the police on radio communications and Dunedin LandSAR chairman.
He said he was now pulling back from his role.
In his time, technology improved greatly, allowing for enhanced communication between rescue teams in remote locations and head offices.
He remembered a particular rescue mission when an light aircraft crashed in Berwick, although he could not remember the year.
"We went through the night and police asked us to go with them and give them the ability to keep communication. Two people had died in the crash and we needed to keep communication going between police."
Communications like that were an extremely important part of rescue missions, he said.
Many members also received long service awards on Thursday night, although not all were present.
They were: Chris Coory (41 years), David Stevenson (40), Patricia Moller (37), Brian Benn (35), Paul Kelly (32), Peter Walton (32), Bruce Calder (30), Chris Read (30), Graeme Irvine (30), Kay Raw (29), Lisa Morton (26), Barry Dougherty (25), Martin Balch (25), Harold Raw (29), Wayne Daniel Miller (25), Lindsey Ross (21), Dave Robertson (20), Paul Bedwell (20), Paul Sharp (20) and Bob Smith (20)
