Meet Ballarat’s Australia Day award nominees

The City of Ballarat will recognise some of the region’s best and most community minded residents and groups at a ceremony in Civic Hall on tonight, Friday, 24 January from 5pm. Until then, meet some of the nominees in this year’s Australia Day Awards for Citizen, Young Citizen, and Community Event of the Year.

 

Citizen of the Year

 

Gary William Browning

For contribution to Ballarat tourism and community. Mr Browning was actively involved in several aspects of the tourism sector including major hotels, bars, accommodation venues.  Also active in charities and community sponsorship across Ballarat including Ballarat Cystic Fibrosis Inc, Ballarat RSL, Scouts, sports clubs and the Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre. Mr Browning’s is a posthumous nomination.

 

Dennis Collins

For contributions to recycling. Mr Collins established PVC Separation which is a world changing solution to recycling that breaks down a range of products like paper cups, coffee pods, electrical cabling, PVC items, tyres to name a few) to their original components for separation for recycling, saving tonnes of waste from landfill.

 

Nick Locandro

For contributions to awareness of early onset dementia. Through two long distance rides, one of 2300 kilometres and one of 1000 kilometres, Mr Locandro has raised over $55,000 and started This is Dementia, a not-for -profit organisation which supports people with dementia and their carers to allow them to continue to have active engagement within the community.

 

Paul Beechey

For contributions to the Burrumbeet community and broader region. Active event organisation in the district, including a 47-year commitment to the CFA, 39 years at the Learmonth Bowling Club, the Soldiers Memorial Hall, the Uniting Church, local schools and Ballarat’s Clarendon College.

 

Merle Hathaway

For a lifetime commitment to the Ballarat and regional community. Ms Hathaway has been actively involved in a range of volunteer work for 50 years including preserving heritage buildings, and fundraising for refugees, the homeless and those with mental health illness as well as the arts.

 

Desley Beechey

For contributions to the local, regional and international community. Ms Beechey’s passion for helping others has reached across women’s and children’s services in south-west Victoria and in Timor Leste. She has given outstanding commitment to Rotary, teaching English to migrants, providing leadership to the Learmonth Historical Society and the Dowling Forest Trust.

 

Marcia ‘Marce’ King

Contributions to inclusion in community sports. Ms King established, manages and coaches at the Ballarat Roller Skate Fit club. She promotes fitness and inclusion through fun for all ages, genders and levels of fitness and ability.  Also an accomplished artist who gives back to the community via exhibitions, free portraiture and high school scholarships.

 

Young Citizen of the Year

 

Samuel McColl

For contribution to volunteering across the community. Sam has participated and provided leadership in a range of volunteer organisations including coaching on the Young Rural Leaders program, St John Ambulance, CFA, sporting and theatrical events, and Guide Dogs Australia.

 

April O’Neill

For provision of extraordinary leadership for young people. April encourages and empowers young people who are isolated and disconnected from the community as a result of social and mental health issues.

 

Josha-Lyn Gibson

For commitment to and advocacy of the Clemente program.  Josha-Lyn uses her own experience to promote the work and positive outcomes of the program, to improve the lives of others.

 

Shelby Sherritt

For promotion of healing through art and nature.  Shelby has used her own experiences and study to explore and promote art therapy in the recovery from serious illness. She encourages others to explore nature and use it in a range of artistic endeavours to promote healing.

 

Aleasha Kelly

Contribution to young people. Through her participation and leadership in the LARF program, Aleasha is making a difference to the lives of vulnerable young people in our community.

 

Rory Taylor

For commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, projects. In high school Rory was invited to intern on major IBM projects. She is now continuing further education on IT.

 

Tobias Soul

For commitment to the Pathways in Technology, or P-TECH, as a program participant and ambassador. Tobias has used his IT skills to develop projects and games with CAFS and to support and promote P-TECH at both the Get into Games Expo and the Ballarat Grammar Career Expo.

 

Keeley Johnson

For support for educational opportunities for children with autism or intellectual disability. Keeley, through recognition of her own disability, created Keeley’s Cause, a nationally registered charity.  She has raised over $50,000 to provide children with learning difficulties iPads.

 

Ethan Sculley

For support for children with special needs and varied cultural backgrounds. A primary school student, Ethan recognised the needs of children and ‘sees the child not the difference’. His approach to peer support has been implemented in several primary schools across Ballarat and has raised funds for the less fortunate children in his community as well as for Very Special Kids and Cystic Fibrosis and created 500 Feat to provide socks for the homeless.

 

Gabriel Gervasoni

For commitment to the Pathways in Technology program.  Gabriel is a team player who likes to apply his passion for IT to his futurist philosophy. This has led him to several projects while still at school including an IBM internship and running workshops for Vision Australia on using technology to support learning for the visually impaired within the mainstream education system.

 

Evie Crawford

For leadership and mentoring within the community. Evie has provided leadership in a range of initiatives including the Empower to Play program, captaining her school’s energy breakthrough challenge, providing leadership in primary school science days and as an engaged member of the Western Bulldogs Youth Leadership project.

 

Community Event of the Year

 

Ballarat Repair Cafe

Contribution to the environment and circular economy. The Ballarat Repair Cafe is a volunteer organisation that promotes and provides free repair of household items instead of replacing them.  It also provides education to members of the community on care, maintenance and repair of goods for longer life and less landfill.

 

Roller Skate Fit Club 3350

Contribution through inclusion in fitness. Roller Skate Fit (3350) is a volunteer organisation that promotes fitness for people of all levels and supports the development social networks and inclusion through fun and fitness.