Todd Talks By Todd Muller

I grabbed a sausage the other day off a hard-working parent standing behind a barbecue on a beating hot day while a group of 17-year-olds cleaned my car from top to bottom.

Outside Mount College it was the rowers' turn to take up their popular car wash option to raise some money for their sport – in this instance the under-18 novice girls hoping to attend their first nationals tournament.

This crew is particularly notable because they are the first girls' squad from Mount College in many years – they had worked so hard to get into this position.

Up before dawn most days, most of them needing to be dropped off by mum or dad to train full noise day-after-day, then off to school for classes.

There's no real history of rowing at this school, just parents with passion, kids with drive and that youthful assumption that ‘cant' or ‘wont' or ‘shouldn't' are words for others. It's this ‘just do it' attitude that I see so much of out and about in our community.

Volunteers are everywhere, humble and inspirational. Nearly always under the radar, thousands of Bay locals every week commit to something more than themselves. I find it very powerful and a key ingredient in our regional attractiveness.

We are living in unprecedented times with the population influx into our town – it's extraordinary. I see this as a huge positive because I know the talented people now calling Tauranga home have a huge role to play in the development of our city. If you are a ‘new arrival' remember the best way to connect with a community is to volunteer your time to a cause you are passionate about – that way we all win.