My Account
Variety is the spice of life for Melanie Kerr of Whangaparaoa. She moved from a rural background and a love of farming life into the public eye, pursuing a career that’s included modelling, media and a stint as an airline flight attendant. Despite her current day job as a presenter for TVNZ, this mother of three boys uses her home television for DVDs only and would rather be outdoors. Melanie says she ‘can’t say no’ when it comes to helping with a good cause and her energy in volunteer roles has seen her work with guide dogs, the YMCA, local schools and, most recently, as Ambassador for NZ Riding for the Disabled. She spoke to Terry Moore about using ‘the gift of the gab’ to benefit the community.
Once you’ve seen the changes in a disabled person that comes from horse riding, it’s impossible not to want to help out. I remember one girl who, when she started less than a year ago, was completely floppy when she got on the horse. We propped her up at first, but now she is able to sit in the saddle almost unsupported, and it’s remarkable to witness and be part of that change. I first visited Riding for the Disabled in Stillwater when I was mentoring a young woman as part of the YWCA’s Future Leaders programme. It’s a four-year course that includes giving back to the community, so I was going to take her to Riding for the Disabled. In the end, she never came, but I did, and since then I’ve been going every week, for more than four years, as a volunteer and now as ambassador. It offers young people with a wide range of disabilities physical benefits such as core strength and balance and builds self-confidence but also the behaviour of children, such as those with autism, changes as they relate to the animals. That’s my passion, right there; with those amazing kids, patient horses and hard working volunteers.
I grew up on a dairy farm on Maori land in Ruatoki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. It was a happy childhood, with my sister and brother, and I was on the back of a horse most of my days. My sister Fiona, who is a textile artist, still lives in the Bay of Plenty and my brother Drew lives in Doha where he is an autocue operator and cameraman for Al Jazera television. When I was 17 I moved to outback Australia where I worked in the gold mines and drove trucks for a few years. I also lived on, and helped run, a 1.3 million acre cattle station and loved it, but eventually the green land of home drew me back. I did a bit of modelling when I returned to New Zealand, got into TV commercials, and also worked as Puppy Development Manager for the Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind – a great job where I was responsible for the placement and assessment of puppies and their families. My start in radio came at One Double X in the Bay of Plenty, which is a bit like Times FM on the Coast – a live, local based station where everyone has to do a bit of everything. I love people, so community events and fundraising, which come with the territory when you’re on the radio, just came naturally. If you take all those opportunities and build on them, you find that a career can grow out of charitable work. When I first moved to the Hibiscus Coast, six years ago, I worked with Times FM as a part time presenter, and currently I’m into my sixth season working at TVNZ one day a week, hosting the advertorials on the Good Morning show. You meet lots of clients and I like talking about what they’ve got to offer; I feel so lucky to have a job like that. It’s fun, but at the same time emotionally tiring; you have to always be upbeat and smiling, while at the same time being Switzerland – absolutely neutral.
When my sons Fletcher and Pierce, were small, there were lots of ways I wanted to be helping people and a friend advised me to take a step back and ‘help out where you are at’, so you don’t spread yourself too thin. It was good advice – when my children were at kindy I helped with that and then at primary school. Now that Fletcher and Pierce are teenagers it’s fund raising for Silverdale Rugby Club and one son has joined the Air Cadets, so I’m getting involved with that. As my youngest boy, August aged two, grows I’m sure there will be lots more opportunities. As a result of my background in radio I often get asked to do MC work as a volunteer, most recently at Kiara’s Angel Walk in Orewa but also for school events. Public speaking is not a problem and I’m at my best with a microphone and a room full of people. It’s hard to beat that live, seat of the pants feeling when you have to totally think on your feet.
Before I had children, in the late 1990s, I worked as a flight attendant for Air New Zealand after a girlfriend who was a flight attendant suggested I try it. Although I never really overcame my fear of flying, I would recommend it to any young, single person; you are away from home a lot and you’ve never known physical exhaustion like it, but I went all over the world. As well as frequent trips to Los Angeles, Frankfurt and London, I was in Hong Kong for the hand over and spent time in Bangkok, Chinese Taipei, Japan and the Pacific Islands as well as Australia. Flying tests you to the limit because you are in a confined space and passengers are anxious or excited, depending on why they’re flying. Some may be drinking – it’s pretty intense and you have to be happy and positive all the time.
Despite my work in the media, we don’t watch television, only DVDs, at home. When we started our home renovations, a couple of years ago, we decided to have a summer without TV because we have a beach nearby and a boat and kayak. We haven’t missed it, and my boys have been raised without commercials, although they’re aware of what I do. We can always go to the neighbours when the rugby is on. In fact, a lot of my summer is taken up with weddings, ever since I became a marriage celebrant, which was a slightly unexpected turn in my career. Had I known how hard it was to get into this line of work, I would never have applied. It was a two-year process, you have to prove you are community minded and of good character and then you’re simply appointed on the basis of need in the area where you live. I had given up on the idea, then they rang up and said I’d been appointed, out of the blue. There is no training of any kind. I started by doing friends’ weddings, but discovered there was a demand for a contemporary style of wedding celebrant. Most weekends from spring to autumn I do two weddings; around 40 a season. Your confidence and style develops with experience. The main thing is making sure the couples are as relaxed as they can possibly be and the same goes for the guests. Couples like to choose a location that reflects their interests, and that includes quite a few coastal ones – I did one the other day at Piha Beach and it makes you feel lucky to be living in this country. The beauty and accessibility of places like that is unique in the world.
I would hope for longevity in the media – and of course as a marriage celebrant you can go on forever. Broadcasting and being an MC is what I love, despite all its foibles. You never know what’s around the corner but in the pipeline is a television or internet show, which I’m working towards. Next year I’m planning to undertake a horse trek in Mongolia to raise funds for NZ Riding for the Disabled. That combination of adventure and fundraising for a worthy cause really appeals.
