Congratulations to Pete Shepherd for reaching 50 years at Customs!
03.31pm 13 July 2022 | Social Media
Today, the first of the Medals and Long Service ceremonies for 2022 were held in Wellington at the Customhouse. It was an extra special day for Pete Shepherd who received his 50 year long service award.
Pete Shepherd started in Customs in 1971 in Christchurch straight out of high school, in the long since defunct ‘Squaring Up’ section. In 1974 he moved to Auckland where he gained valuable experience over a wide range of work groups. Peter moved to Wellington in 1987, where he has remained and has worked in more than 10 different work areas and for 32 managers.
During this time, he married Kaye and has two sons. Peter’s current role is as an International Liaison Officer, with the International and Governance Team.
Peter thoroughly enjoys his job and believes that you ‘get out, what you put in’.
“I have had many highlights, including introducing a system to record small craft movements travelling across the Pacific and locating drugs, seizing an English taxi (that was driven from England overland to New Zealand). An interesting point about the seizure of the taxi was that a firearm was subsequently found behind a door panel,” says Pete.
Outside of work, Pete likes watching sports, and enjoys reading detective novels on his Kindle. He is a keen philatelist who has more than 100 albums of bird stamps.
Pete’s wife Kaye has worked at Customs since 1979.
“From when I joined Customs, I progressed through a range of work areas and locations, including Wellington, Napier, and Auckland. I’ve held a variety of roles including, National Airport Trainer, Intelligence Analyst, and Senior Operations Analyst,” says Kaye.
Kaye is currently a Customs Technical Specialist at the National Maritime Coordination Centre where she is responsible for the operational planning and coordination of maritime patrol and surveillance tasks. Last year, Kaye received her fourth clasp to the New Zealand Customs Service Medal. Medals are awarded to Customs officers who have had 14 years of service and a clasp is presented every seven years thereafter.
Together, Pete and Kaye’s service to New Zealand Customs adds up to more than 90 years!
Congratulations again Peter for achieving this fantastic milestone and for you and Kaye’s dedication and unwavering Service to the New Zealand Customs Service.