Time to recognise young achievers

NOMINATIONS for the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards are now open.

They aim to acknowledge people up to 29 years old who positively contribute to their community through a range of activities.

Twenty-two-year-old Teghan Henderson from Warrenheip was a winner last year in the Volunteer Excellence category.

“I do work very long hours, Thursday’s the only night I don’t work until 6 or 7 o’clock. Most weekends I do my volunteer work, but it’s definitely rewarding,” she said.

Ms Henderson said it was an unexpected joy to be nominated for the award.

“Pinarc [Disability Support] personally contacted me and told me, and I was very excited, my family was too, my co-workers and the parents of the kids were happy for me,” she said.

“The awards process was nice and easy, I basically didn’t have to do anything, and I definitely wasn’t expecting it.

“I was getting a lot of congratulations from people on the street I’d never seen before, and getting Facebook messages and comments, and I don’t know half of them. This went for a while, I would see people months later, and still get congratulations.”

There are 10 categories in in this years Young Achiever Awards in areas like Community Service and Social Impact, Regional and Rural Health, Tech Visionary and Leadership.

Nominations close 14 December.