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Retirement home operator Hopper Living took home two People’s Choice awards at the annual Aged Advisor Awards last month.
The awards were for Maygrove Village Ōrewa and Country Club Huapai.
The national awards recognise top aged care, retirement, and lifestyle villages across Aotearoa.
Hopper Living was also a silver finalist in the Best Provider Nationwide category.
The 2024 award winners (gold medals) and finalists (silver medals) were based on nearly 4000 independent reviews from people who live, visit or work at the facilities.
Aged Advisor general manager Tania Ryan said it was the highest number of reviews received in the decade that the awards had been running. Candidates included more than 945 facilities – retirement villages, aged care and assisted living.
“It was an absolute pleasure to be able to award Country Club Huapai and Maygrove Village Ōrewa as our finalist winners again this year. Each of these villages obviously do a wonderful job of looking after their residents, and being chosen as one of our finalists shows that they are proven stars in our industry,” Ryan said
Hopper Living was also recognised as a finalist in the Best Provider Nationwide category, for the second year in a row. Chief executive Andy Grey said that being recognised in such a competitive sector was a tremendous honour for a family business, reinforcing a commitment to providing exceptional quality and care for every resident who made their villages their home.
Parent company Hopper Developments was founded 70 years ago in Whangaparāoa by brothers, Tony and Ian. The Hopper family has deep roots on the peninsula where the family first settled in the 1920s and the Ōrewa-based company has grown into a third-generation business with the head office remaining on the Hibiscus Coast.
Stewardship of the company has remained with the Hopper family over the generations. Ian’s son Leigh Hopper took over the business in 1987 and was instrumental in diversifying Hopper Developments, establishing aged retirement living, Maygrove Village Ōrewa in 2002.
“My family ethos, which has come down through the generations, comes from the realm of hard toil and a good work ethic” Hopper said.
Hopper’s nephew Andy Grey now leads the business, in the wake of Leigh’s retirement in 2021, and said he can’t wait for to return to the peninsula with his family. He plans to build a house at Hobbs Bay Estate – a Hopper Developments residential subdivision at Gulf Harbour.
Hopper honoured
Leigh Hopper’s services to property development and philanthropy were recognised this year when he received the New Zealand Order of Merit. Hoppers’ visionary approach shaped both Hopper Developments and the coastal landscapes of New Zealand. With an emphasis on family philosophy rooted in stewardship and legacy, Ōrewa-born Hopper grew the company from a small family operation in Whangaparāoa to a thriving business employing more than 200 people during his tenure as managing director. The King’s Birthday Honours List citation said Hoppers’ developments focussed on the long-term public and private good that they would bring. It stated, ‘Through this work he has donated land or supported the building of a range of public facilities such as sports fields, concert parks, boat ramps, marinas and beaches’.
