Dr John Birrell Award recipient announced

GEELONG police officer Johan Wisewould has been awarded this year’s Dr John Birrell OAM Road Safety Practitioner of the Year Award at a special ceremony on Tuesday night in Leopold.

The annual awards night, hosted by Bellarine North Rotary Club and Rotary Club of Bayside Geelong at Leopold Sportsman’s Club, shines a light on the work being done locally to mitigate incidents on the road.

Mr Wisewould, a senior constable of the Geelong Highway Patrol, said receiving the award would not have been possible without his unit’s assistance.

“Thank you to the rotary clubs for the award and the generous donation of $3,000, which I have decided to donate to the Amber Community,” Mr Wisewould said during his acceptance speech.

“I’m also appreciative to my management for nominating me for this award and recognising my efforts and my achievements.

“It also goes without saying none of this is even possible without the amazing team at Geelong Highway Patrol, they’re a hard-working and dedicated group of people, passionate about achieving the common goal in reducing road trauma in our community.”

He was presented the award by colleague and senior sergeant Travis Farnsworth, as well as Bellarine North Rotary Club president Leila Stetcher before taking questions from guests.

Mr Wisewould’s $3,000 donation to the charity of his choice, was presented by Rotary Clubs of Bayside Geelong’s Jo White to Amber Community’s South West regional coordinator Luke Elliot.

Ms Stetcher said the night is a major highlight for the Rotary Clubs, hearing from a raft of voices and experts on the topic of road safety.

“It’s a privilege for us to run this night to be able to acknowledge the work Victoria Police do on our roads.

“The horrific sights they must see, they continue to show up to these horrific accidents on the road.

“It also gives us the opportunity to give thanks to organisations such as Amber Community and Raw2Roar for the great work they do with road traffic trauma victims.”

The award has been presented locally since 2021 in honour of road safety practitioner Dr John Birrell.