THE City\u2019s star older residents were revealed earlier this week with the winners of the Ballarat Seniors Awards announced on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
The recipients were celebrated with a presentation at Town Hall, which saw each of the five category\u2019s winners, and four nominees acknowledged.<\/p>\n
Mayor Cr Des Hudson said the awards are all about recognising the city\u2019s older residents aged 55 and older.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got a small snapshot of the thousands of people in our community that volunteer their time, give of themselves\u2026 across Ballarat, year in, year out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeniors can feel invisible, like they\u2019ve lost that sense of purpose, but if you were to turn around take all that volunteerism, all that knowledge away, our community would stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whereas previous awards gave the Ballarat Senior of the Year award to one of the four category winners, this year marked the first where the top nod was awarded separate from the other titles.<\/p>\n
Social justice volunteer and humanitarian Maureen Doonan was recognised for her years of service, receiving the Ballarat Senior of the Year Award.<\/p>\n
With more than 20 years of working with groups like Ballarat Refugee Asylum Seeker Support Network and opening her home up to young refugees, she said she was taught early on to always care for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was brought up to believe we help our neighbour, whatever that might be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d often walk home from school and there were strangers in the house, they\u2019d stay a while, so you might as well get to know them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my mother\u2019s attitude. You look at people and think if I were in that situation, what would I need, or like someone to do? And you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ageing Well Award went to Mary Douglas, who\u2019s supported palliative care patients at Ballarat Hospice for more than a decade, and currently helps provide meals at the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre.<\/p>\n
Sebastopol Fire Brigade boss Captain Steve Burgess, whose been with the CFA for more than 20 years, received the Volunteer Award.<\/p>\n
Cheryl Szollosi was acknowledged for her coordinating of inclusive LGBTQIA+ groups Rainbow Coffee Ballarat, and Uncoordinated Queers, the latter of which she co-founded, with the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award.<\/p>\n
The Healthy and Active Living Award went to Stuart Bell, who\u2019s been a volunteer with Lifeline for more than a decade and a volunteer driver for the Ballarat Foundation\u2019s L2P program.<\/p>\n
He said the awards recipients shared a common sense of selflessness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all got a commitment to helping people,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a volunteer, what appeals to me the most is the acknowledgment you get from the people you support.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may only do what seems a small thing, that actually means a lot to their day-to-day life. There\u2019s also a privileged part of meeting people that you\u2019d never, ever meet through the normal course of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ceremony was the final activity as part of the municipality\u2019s Seniors Festival held during October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE City\u2019s star older residents were revealed earlier this week with the winners of the Ballarat Seniors Awards announced on Tuesday morning. The recipients were celebrated with a presentation at Town Hall, which saw each of the five category\u2019s winners, and four nominees acknowledged. Mayor Cr Des Hudson said the awards are all about recognising […]<\/p>\n