Four Square Coromandel's Chris Beard named Local Hero at the 2025 Charlie Awards

27 August 2025

Proof that you don’t need a cape to be a local hero - sometimes all it takes is a store, a big heart, and a lot of hustle.  

Four Square Coromandel store owner Chris Beard has been recognised as a Local Hero at the annual Four Square Charlie Awards, hosted by Foodstuffs North Island. The Charlie Awards celebrate the Four Square spirit, acknowledging store owners and teams that go above and beyond for their customers and communities.

Judges praised Chris for his commitment to the Coromandel community, both through his role as a retailer and his voluntary contributions. A volunteer firefighter for over six years, Chris also coaches junior rugby, serves on several local committees, and supports a number of community groups, schools and clubs. 

Four Square Coromandel has contributed $37,000 in sponsorships and donations to the community in the last year alone, and since coming into the community, Chris has also sponsored local rugby and netball clubs, a scholarship for Coromandel Area School students, provided food to the Coromandel Independent Living Trust, and regularly hosted fundraisers for families and local organisations in need. 

Chris says being named Local Hero was humbling and surprising. 

“I really didn’t think I’d win. There are so many awesome Four Square owners out there doing great stuff. For me, it all comes back to community. Whether it’s backing local sports teams, lending a hand to people who need it most, or just making life a bit easier for our customers, that’s what I love about the job. If we can make a difference – big or small – that’s the real win.” 

Chris and his wife Becky have owned Four Square Coromandel since 2021. Life is busy for the young couple, who juggle running a business and family life with their three sons, Freddie, aged 6, Beau, 4, and Jordy, 2. At the end of last year, they completed a store upgrade and new layout, designed with customer convenience in mind. The store employs around 33 staff, growing to 40 over the busy summer season, and offers a unique free rural delivery service to support residents across the peninsula. The store supports a range of small suppliers, with products from local honey producers, Naughty Bean Coffee and Coffee Lala, as well as firewood from the Coromandel Lions Club, (which gets 100% of proceeds of firewood sold instore). The Beards are also about to secure a deal to stock craft beer from a local brewery. 

The couple previously owned Four Square Tokomaru Bay, where Chris was also very active in the community. Living in a small, remote community, he learned that when something goes wrong, help can be a long way off – and sometimes you’re it. Among his other contributions to the community, he became a volunteer firefighter, an experience that was both confronting and character building at a hectic time when the Beards were starting their first business and preparing for the arrival of their first child.

This isn’t Chris’s first accolade – Four Square Coromandel has also been named Best Four Square Store at the Foodstuffs North Island Co-op Awards, and he also won Four Square’s inaugural award for local service to the community. For Chris, it’s the Local Hero award that means the most. 

“It’s a privilege to be able to give back to the community that supports us. That’s what gets me on to the shop floor every day.”