Daphne has been an active member of our Association since the 1990s, a service to Southland that spans over 30 years. As a past President, a position held prior and leading up to the 2005 conference,  and dedicated organiser, holding supporting roles on our committee also, we are immensely grateful for the support and expertise that Daphne brings to the Southland Literacy Association (SLA).

The SLA holds various events and initiatives throughout the year, and Daphne will often be the Association’s representative if something is run during school time, such as the Authors’ and Illustrator workshops that run for primary and secondary children. In early days, Daphne has been the face of many SLA events, including bus trips with ice cream, bubbles and boasting, thanking guest speakers, speaking roles at local events and symposiums, and more recently, in her role as applying for grants and convenor of the books for babies sub committee. 

Her meticulous attention to detail is evident in her coordination of the ‘Books for Babies’ initiative. Each year, Daphne applies for sponsorship, organises the resources for packing and distributes packs to local maternity centres across the Southland region. She continues to make the connections of literacy into the lives of new born babies, parents and health care professionals. Daphne's knowledge and experience of applying for grants were invaluable to the conference sub-committee when organising the 2023 NZLA conference. She provided constant support and guidance for this process as she was also involved in organising the conference held in Invercargill in 2005.  Leading into this conference Daphne helped at all our organisation day and her experience and knowledge previously held was an asset to the current sub committee. She was a mentor to those of us who had not yet worked this journey with SLA. Daphne is a constant advocate for her region, literacy and reading for all. She continues to share her passion with the young people of today as she did when she started on the Southland Reading Association. 

In recognition of Daphne's outstanding service, leadership, and unwavering dedication to the SLA, we wholeheartedly endorse her for the Service Award.