Floreena a super senior!

FLOREENA Forbes officially received a Council on the Ageing Victoria Senior Achiever Award last week, for her volunteering commitments and contributions to community radio.

Ms Forbes has been broadcasting country music since the 1990s, she currently hosts a weekly program on Phoenix FM and regularly performs at charity events, raising over $20,000 for genetic condition Niemann-Pick in the last six years.

The 84-year-old said the experience of being named a Victorian Senior of the Year has been “very rewarding” and the commendation has gone “pretty much to the top” of her list of awards.

In 2017 she was entered into the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame at Tamworth, joining some of her own idols such as broadcasting legend John Laws.

“A year after that I won another award from the Mal Norton Entertainment Services awards in Dubbo, the John P Toomer Memorial Award for services to country music,” she said.

“I have Facebook pages and I have people from all over Australia who’ve contacted me, congratulating me for winning this prestigious award.”

The local broadcaster is looking forward to the New Year, which will see her travel to the home of Australian country music for the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January, where she will raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charity.

She will also take the stage when she accepts her Victoria Senior Achiever Award at Parliament House in February.

“They’ve asked me to appear and sing a couple songs while I’m there as well, so that’s another great honour,” she said.