	{"id":118866,"date":"2025-11-18T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/?p=118866"},"modified":"2025-11-12T20:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:04:21","slug":"new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\/","title":{"rendered":"New categories to support major award winners on Australia Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LISMORE City Council has announced two new categories with a focus on academics and business at the Australia Day awards in January.<\/p>\n<p>The new categories are academic excellence and contribution to economic excellence, and will announced along with the citizen of the year and other major award winners.<\/p>\n<p>The Lismore awards have taken extra on significance in recent years, recognising SES volunteers and community members who have been crucial in the flood rebuild from 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Neville Graham was citizen of the year in 2025, recognised for spending more than 40 years in emergency services groups throughout the region.<\/p>\n<p>The 2024 awards were highlighted by Mieke Bell, who has run The Winsome and Lismore Soup Kitchen for nearly 35 years.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One thing that has always stood out to me is that our community is full of quiet unsung heroes,&#8221; Lismore mayor Steve Krieg said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Australia Day Awards give us a chance every year to honour those passionate people who dedicate a large part of their lives to building a stronger, healthier community with no thought of personal gain.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you have a friend who works hard for a volunteer group, know a student who is kicking goals in life or admire a person for their work for our community, please nominate them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Other categories include young citizen of the year, services in the community (individual), services in the community (group), sportsperson\/team (junior), sportsperson\/team (senior), environment, and arts\/culture.<\/p>\n<p>Nominations close on Sunday, November 30 and can be made at <a href=\"http:\/\/lismore.nsw.gov.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lismore.nsw.gov.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The awards will be held in the Whitebrook Theatre at Southern Cross University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LISMORE City Council has announced two new categories with a focus on academics and business at the Australia Day awards in January. The new categories are academic excellence and contribution to economic excellence, and will announced along with the citizen of the year and other major award winners. The Lismore awards have taken extra on [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":118869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-118866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New categories to support major award winners on Australia Day - Byron Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lismore City Council adds new Australia Day awards for academic and business excellence, celebrating locals making a big impact.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New categories to support major award winners on Australia Day - Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lismore City Council adds new Australia Day awards for academic and business excellence, celebrating locals making a big impact.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-17T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/11\/Untitled-design-36-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\"},\"headline\":\"New categories to support major award winners on Australia Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-17T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":272,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Untitled-design-36-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/new-categories-to-support-major-award-winners-on-australia-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"New categories to support major award winners on Australia Day - 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