Community Good Award finalist: Creatipix
Mark Jackson, Founder of Creatipix, was nominated seven times for our Community Good Award.
When we rang Mark to let him know he was a finalist in the category, he was a bit surprised because he didn’t even know he’d entered it.
“I did a bit of digging and found out my wife had emailed a number of our clients and let them know of the awards. She asked that if they felt I had provided them with help worthy of a nomination, to feel free to do so,” he said when we met with him to talk about his work.
After hearing there had actually been seven separate nominations for him, his reaction was priceless.
“Oh my gosh, that’s quite humbling. I’m one to shy away from the limelight, for me this is all about the people and the organisations and the work that they do. You won’t find my name associated with most of my work, and people give me such a hard time about that. So, this is quite uncomfortable for me,” Mark said.
One of Mark’s nominations was from the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society (NZBMS).
“I’ve done work for NZBMS for nearly 20 years. I started out capturing photos for them, starting with a mission trip to Fiji. From there it grew into a range of different media work, providing concepts and ideas and helping them push comms,” Mark said.
Mark said he’d travelled extensively through Asia with NZBMS, helping capture content for their projects which, he said, we primarily centred around women, children and education.
“They’re a great organisation to work with, I’ve really enjoyed helping them where I can,” Mark said.
The nomination said, “Mark is an absolute treasure, and we greatly appreciate the work he has done for NZBMS.”
The writer said NZBMS was a complex organisation with five different websites and many media requirements, including video production.
“For over 18 years, Mark has taken care of our media needs which includes contributing towards the design, development and maintenance of all five websites. He also creates video content for our annual appeals.
“Mark's knowledge of media has been extremely helpful, particularly over the past year when the world's online presence increased drastically. He is always ready to help someone in need, and has a big heart for all people,” they said.
Another nomination for Mark came from the Bay Baptist Church in Napier.
“Our ministries reach out to troubled homes in the community and troubled teens. We also offer help with addictions. Mark's graphic design assistance and colour printing, all at very reduced costs, unables us to get the word out effectively and attractively,” the nomination said
Asha, an NGO in India, also put Mark forward for the award. The nomination said that due to the sensitive nature of NGOs working in India, at present, the company had to be very careful about what was put on their website.
“Mark worked tirelessly to ensure that we were happy with the wording, and images used,” it read.
Mark said it was a pleasure to work with the people from Bay Baptist, and something that took very little time.
One more nomination came in from N Cubed, No Nonsense Nutrition, which said, “Mark has been absolutely incredible. He has helped me from the start and realised my potential and kept encouraging me. He came across my brand via external links and has volunteered hours of help as I was a start up business that could not afford to pay him.
“He redid my whole logo, advertising pamphlets, business cards as well as website and has had regular meetings with me to continue to support me and keep me on track.
“I lost my father last year and Mark has taken on the role to keep supporting me, hold me accountable and believed in me when I have not. Mark's support and encouragement through the toughest year I will ever experience is something I will never be able to repay him for, even when he tells me to write new blog posts and I don't.”
Mark said he was humbled by every nomination, but he didn’t believe he needed recognition for his work.
“I’ve always had a social justice, community mindset. I think if we live in a community, we have a responsibility to be active in that community. I’ve been fortunate enough that my skill base has enabled me to travel around the world to help.
“I believe, whether it be local or national, it’s important that we contribute to the world in which we live, rather than just taking from it. Most of the work that I’m personally involved in is all not-for-profit and NGO work, that’s what rings my bell and gets me out of bed in the morning,” Mark said.
Other websites that sent in nominations for Mark from included the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Flying for Life.
See the NZBMS sites here: nzbms.org.nz; tranzsend.org.nz; banzaid.org.nz; missionworld.org.nz; marketplacers.co.nz.