Unable to travel to Wellington due to illness and receive the medal from Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, Mr Hill received it from Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher in a ceremony attended by friends and supporters.
Mr Hill said he felt a bit embarrassed by all the attention on one of the "most important'' days in his life.
"It recognises all the work I've done all over the years. I've been helping people since I was 7 years old.''
During his acceptance speech, Mr Hill thanked the mayor and his supporters, but jokingly criticised Sir Jerry for not making the time to visit him even though he had been in Dunedin on Tuesday on his last visit to the southern centre as Governor-General.
He said Sir Jerry's office was aware of why he could not travel and had said Sir Jerry would award him his medal the next time he was in the South Island.
"Since then, he's come twice and he never presented it to me. He was in Dunedin the other day. He saw a 102-year-old nun. I can't compete with a 102-year-old nun.''
Mr Hill received the accolade for his contribution to the paralympic movement, but also to welfare through his work with the Salvation Army and health since being diagnosed with superficial siderosis from a virus.
He has been involved in supporting, promoting and organising events for the disabled since he was a founding member of the Paraplegic and Physically Disabled Association (now Paralympics New Zealand) in 1973.
He was a wheelchair mechanic at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games.
He was the assistant chef de mission at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics and chef de mission at the 2000 Barcelona Paralympics.
His wife and paralympic champion, Trish Hill said Mr Hill contracted viral encephalitis while on a fundraising trip in 1991.
"He ended up in Waikato Hospital [and] was off work for a year recovering.''
He had superficial siderosis of the nervous system.
"That is a rare condition and a side effect of the virus.''
He also has allodynia and that effects his entire body leaving him in a lot of pain, Mrs Hill said.
"Our life has completely changed from when he as an able-bodied young man running around 5000 miles an hour organising everyone. Now, he's more disabled than anyone that he ever helped.''
