The Clyde man was recently named the Coastguard operational volunteer of the year, but modestly plays down his achievement, preferring to simply offer thanks to his nominators.
Fortunately, the national heads of the organisation are only too happy to provide information and praise, describing Mr Smith (39) as ''a backbone'' of the Coastguard's southern region. Coastguard New Zealand chief executive Patrick Holmes said Mr Smith was largely responsible for the formation of the Coastguard Clyde unit, and had been a key force in developing and raising the profile of the unit in the community.
''Volunteers like Tony are the lifeblood of Coastguard and are committed to saving Kiwis' lives on the water. Tony is a modest achiever whose quiet involvement contributes significantly to the organisation as a whole,'' he said.
National Coastguard president Dean Lawrence said Mr Smith's loyalty and commitment were second to none and his achievements included raising funds for, locating and purchasing the Clyde rescue vessel in 2006 and establishing the Clyde unit base. The Mackenzie Lakes and Wanaka Lakes units nominated him for the award and said he spent numerous weekends in Twizel and Wanaka training volunteers. Due to his hard work and dedication over two and a-half years, eight of the Coastguard members had passed their Boat Masters Certification and four were close to being operational. Mr Smith started the Clyde unit nine years ago.
''I was in the [Clyde] fire brigade and could see the need for a dedicated water-rescue vessel, so that's how it all started,'' he said. Coastguard Clyde's main focus is Lakes Dunstan, Roxburgh and Onslow and a stretch of the Clutha River, but the group has worked as far afield as Beaumont and Hawea.
As well as carrying out search and rescue tasks, the Clyde unit also acts as support boat for events like boat racing, jet-ski competitions, multisports events and rowing regattas in the area.
''You get to meet a lot of interesting people through this organisation - a whole raft of different people - and learn from their skills,'' Mr Smith said.
He is the president of the Clyde unit and said although it had nine members ''we could do with another 12 or more''.
There were land-based tasks, such as communication and tracking, for volunteers to do as well as water-based activities. Mr Smith expected the demand for the Clyde service to increase as the Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold cycle trails grew in popularity, if cyclists or walkers near the lakes or river were injured or needed medical assistance. Both cycle trails are expected to open next month.
The Coastguard organisation is made up of more than 2430 volunteers and its aim is to keep people safe on the lakes and coastal waters around the country.
The other national awards went to Laurie Officer (Coastguard Southland air patrol), air patrol volunteer of the year; Mark Bollan (Coastguard West Coast), volunteer of the year; Coastguard South Canterbury, rescue of the year; Kevin Dreaver (Coastguard Raglan), rescue vessel volunteer of the year.
