Serving the community in their own way

HIGHTON couple Kenneth and Sheila Mansfield have decades of serving the people of the Geelong region between them, but in entirely separate fields.

Both were individually awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM) yesterday (Thursday, January 26) for service to community of Geelong as part of this year’s Australia Day Honours List.

The couple has been married for nearly six decades but their associations and work with many community groups have never overlapped.

Kenneth’s service includes being a charter member of the Rotary Club of Highton since 1975, a foundation member of the Geelong and Surfcoast Cycling Club since 1977 and several positions at the Highton Bowls Club since 2002.

Sheila was honoured for, among other roles, being a joint founding member of Samaritan House in 2010, several roles at St Bernard’s Catholic Church, and five years as a prison chaplain at Barwon Prison in Lara.

“I was very surprised to find out, but pleased that more women now are being recognised now for the awards.” Sheila said.

“I feel that we’re both very ordinary people and not ones for accolades.

“We’ve been married 59 years but we’ve always done different volunteer work.”

She said she was particularly proud of her service with Samaritan House, where she was on the inaugural board from 2012 to 2014.

“That’s going very well now.”

Kenneth said his time in cycling was a highlight for him, including fundraising rides across the Nullarbor from Perth to Melbourne for the Fred Hollows Foundation, around Tasmania, and from Sydney to Brisbane.

“You feel you’re doing some good as a consequence of participating, and that’s always something you feel pretty proud about.”

Sheila thanked her daughter Lisa for her work in researching the couple’s service as part of the nomination process.

The others awarded OAMs across the Geelong region were:

• Joy Leggo, of Lara, for service to the community through a range of organisations, including Cultura and Aged and Community Services Australia
• Colin Mockett, of Hamlyn Heights, for service to the arts, and to local history, including Drop Of A Hat Productions and the Geelong Theatre Awards
• John McCarthy, of Armstrong Creek, for service to veterans, including the Geelong and District Vietnam Veterans Association and the Torquay RSL
• Anton Leen, of Geelong West, for service to conservation and the environment, including with the Geelong branch of Field and Game Australia
• Sarah Foley, of Point Lonsdale, for service to community health, including with Kids Plus Foundation and Australian Bobath Neurodevelopmental Therapy Association
• The late John McDonald, formerly of Torquay, for service to the community through a range of roles and organisations, including the Rotary Club of Torquay and Barwon Water, and
• Jean Young, of Torquay, for service to community of the Surf Coast region, including with Surfcoast Parish of St Luke’s Anglican Church and The Outpost Geelong.

Anyone can nominate any Australian for an award in the Order of Australia. If you know someone worthy, nominate them now at gg.gov.au