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Whyalla Australia Day award recipients announced
A generous, caring and dedicated resident has been named this year’s Whyalla Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
Colleen Pattingale has been named Whyalla’s 2017 Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
Colleen has been described as a kind and selfless woman who would do almost anything to support her local community.
Having lived in Whyalla for more than 20 years, Colleen has dedicated much of her life to volunteering for local organisations such as Girl Guides, Lions Club and Edward John Eyre High School.
Colleen is a wonderful role model to young people, playing a pivotal part in numerous leadership programs throughout the city, including implementing the ‘Girls on Track’ program to assist young girls that have been subjected to bullying, or who may be at risk or suffer from a lack of confidence build their self-esteem.
It is the many years of dedication to the Whyalla community that sees Colleen recognised as Whyalla’s 2017 Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
Announcing details of this year’s awards, Whyalla mayor Lyn Breuer also named 70-year-old Rene Gillis as the city’s second Senior Citizen of the Year.
Rene has contributed to the community through many local organisations, including DPI and RFDS.
Many of Rene’s weekends are spent running fund raising activities to raise money for the RFDS Whyalla Support Group.
At just 16-years-old, Alicia Renton already has already given so much back to her community, earning her the title of Whyalla Young Citizen of the Year for 2017.
Showing maturity beyond her years, Alicia has dedicated much of her time to St Johns Cadets, Edward John Eyre High School Student Voice, Whyalla Youth Advisory Committee, just to name a few.
Alicia is a wonderful role model for other young people, and her strong leadership skills mean she can pass on valuable advice to other young people getting involved in the community.
This year’s Community Event of the Year has been awarded to Steel City Drag Club for its Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series event, which was held in October 2016.
The two-day event attracted more than 25 national cars from all over Australia, providing national scale publicity as well as providing an economic boost to the city over the weekend.
Two dedicated sportsmen will share the 2017 Whyalla Sports Contribution award.
Shannon Nielsen and Michael Quinn have dedicated countless hours to their respective sporting communities.
Shannon has dedicated much of his time over the past 20 years to Wanderers Soccer Club and the Whyalla Junior Soccer Association, providing support for the club in senior roles, while also mentoring and coaching young players.
Michael’s commitment to the Whyalla Steelers Basketball Club and Whyalla Basketball Association is second to none.
Michael has spent more than 20 years coaching both senior and junior players, having coached more than 500 players throughout his coaching career at varying competitive levels.
Five dedicated community members have also been honoured with Community Service Awards, with awards going to Peter Brown, Lisa Lorenz, Graham Matters, Tamy Pond, and Allan Smith.
Whyalla mayor Lyn Breuer paid tribute to the recipients, who she said had all made outstanding contributions to the Whyalla community and should be commended for their efforts.
“We are lucky in Whyalla to have so many dedicated community members ready and willing to give back to their community,” Ms Breuer said.
Award recipients will be honoured at a private function on Wednesday, January 25, prior to the Australia Day community celebration at the Whyalla Foreshore on Thursday, January 26, at which time award recipients will be acknowledged.
Whyalla’s 2017 Australia Day celebrations will again feature seven hours of quality afternoon entertainment, spirited competitions and cultural excitement, with festivities kicking off from 2pm with Youth Hour.
Whyalla Australia Day Citizen of the Year – Colleen Pattingale
For Colleen Pattingale, lending a helping hand is second nature, whether it be to her Girl Guide groups, at community events, alongside local service clubs, or to someone in need of a place to stay.
It is for her dedication and willingness to give that she has been named Whyalla’s 2017 Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
Colleen has dedicated much of her life to Girl Guides, first as a unit helper for her daughter’s Brownie group, and continuing on for nearly 38 years.
For the past 23 years in Whyalla she has been a unit leader and also run many Active8 programs at Stuart High School.
Currently holding the position of regional manager for Girl Guides South Australia for the northern area, Colleen said she continues to see great value in what Guides stands for.
“I see the value in what Guides gives to girls, and now that I’m in a position as the region manager I also get to see some amazing leaders come through, and I get to help and mentor them too,” she said.
“Seeing that it doesn’t matter where girls come from, that they can all join together and learn skills that they maybe don’t have access to at school or at home, and learn life skills that they carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
Through her involvement with Guides, Colleen played a pivotal part in the running of Girls on Track, an outreach program teaching primary school girls the importance of personal safety, friendship, teamwork and general life skills.
Colleen has always been willing to open her heart to anyone in need, regularly opening her home, alongside husband Garry, to exchange students from all over the world, to foster children, or to people new to Whyalla in need of a place to stay.
“Garry and I are both very happy to share our home; we’re both very aware that there are kids in need and we just enjoy being able to help people,” Colleen said.
“We’ve got a home and family is everything for us, and we’re fortunate that we’ve been able to share our home with other people, and now we’ve got a large extended family as well.”
While she commits a great deal of time to Guides, Colleen’s community service does not stop there.
She is also involved with the local CWA branch, as well as assisting with her church’s ‘drop in’ program which provides a cheap meal for local people.
Colleen and Garry also provide valuable mentorship to students at Edward John Eyre High School.
Between all this, and also offering her assistance to Garry in his role as president of Lions Club of Whyalla, Colleen is kept very busy.
“What you give to an organisation, you certainly get way more benefit out of it; the personal satisfaction of helping far outweighs anything else,” she said.
“If everybody just did a little bit of volunteering we’d all be much better off.”
Colleen said she felt ‘humbled and privileged’ to be named the 2017 Australia Day Citizen of the Year, and thanked Garry and her supportive colleagues for assisting her throughout the years.
Whyalla Australia Day Senior Citizen of the Year – Rene Gillis
Rene Gillis has never let anything stop her from giving back to the community she loves, which is why she has been named the 2017 Australia Day Senior Citizen of the Year.
For Rene, age is no factor in giving back, and can regularly be seen volunteering her time as part of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Whyalla Support Group.
“As a volunteer I find it’s very rewarding and it’s something that we can give back to the community after being a part of the working force and retiring and it’s very special,” she said.
Rene was a member of the founding committee of the RFDS Whyalla Support Group when it began in 2008, and has held the position of treasurer ever since.
After deciding to retire and sell the business she co-owned with a business partner, Rene jumped in the hot seat for DPI, driving people with disabilities to various appointments for 10 years before injury forced her to give it up.
It was after giving up her duties with DPI that Rene’s love for the RFDS really blossomed, and highlighted to her just how wonderful and caring the Whyalla community was.
“The Whyalla community is very supportive and generous to RFDS; we sit out at Westlands selling tickets and people give us such generous donations,” she said.
“Without supporters of RFDS these planes would not continue to fly.”
As part of her role with RFDS, Rene assists in the organisation of fundraisers at community events, gathering all of the necessities for a good old fashioned Aussie barbecue.
Having lived in Whyalla for more than 24 years, Rene well and truly calls Whyalla home.
It is Rene’s belief that every person has something to offer to make each community a better place.
“I was always taught that wherever you can you can help out, and everybody can contribute in some way, it is entirely up to the individual,” she said.
“If you’ve got spare time give it to any of the many services available that might be needy.”
Whyalla Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year – Alicia Renton
At just sixteen-years-old, Alicia Renton is a true role model for young people everywhere.
Alicia is an active member of the Youth Advisory Committee, St John Cadets, and last year had the opportunity to represent Whyalla in Adelaide at Youth Parliament.
Despite an ever increasing lack of young people offering up their time to volunteer, Alicia says it is her experience volunteering in the community that has made her the person she is today.
“I’ve always had a massive thing for helping people, I enjoy staying active within the community because I’m a real people person, so volunteering allows me to help people and make new friends,” she said.
“If I didn’t do the work that I did when I was younger, I wouldn’t be the person that I am now.
“It’s given me a work ethic mind set to be able to push and reach my goals.”
As she prepares herself for her final year of high school, Alicia is already thinking about the ways she can play an active leadership role for her peers in 2017.
Alicia was part of Edward John Eyre High School’s Student Voice in 2016, and is already excited about participating again in her senior year.
Alicia has already recorded many wonderful achievements, but she is most proud of being named St John Cadet of the Year in 2016.
“Cadets has been such a massive part of my life since I was eight-years-old, so being awarded the top award you can get as a cadet was mind-blowing,” she said.
Alicia encourages anyone, young or old, to get out in their community and volunteer their time.
“It doesn’t just waste your time, you get so much out of it, whether its personal development skills or skills for later on in life,” she said.
“When you start [participating with an organisation] when you are young, you see it as a place to meet friends and have fun, but when you get older you start to realise the skills you’re developing and how important the experiences are, and you really start to reap the benefits.”
Whyalla Australia Day Sports Contribution Award – Shannon Nielsen
Shannon Nielson’s many years of dedicated coaching translates to many skilled soccer players, and he has no intentions of hanging up his boots any time soon.
After 26 years of playing local soccer, Shannon’s love of the game is as strong as ever.
It is for his dedication to his club, Wanderers Soccer Club, and also his dedication for sharing his skills with younger players through coaching that Shannon has been named a winner of the Australia Day Sports Contribution Award.
For the past 17 years Shannon has been sharing his love of the game with fellow senior players, and also teaching young up and coming players the tricks of the trade.
He started coaching in 2000, and easily came to love seeing young players improve their game and learn skills.
In recent years Shannon has been extending his coaching to take on state teams, taking an under 13 boys and under 15 girls team to Fiji to participate in regional state championships.
He is now working on gaining the necessary accreditations to further enhance his coaching skills and continue coaching more competitively.
“I just love seeing the kids grow from younger to older, and seeing the enjoyment they get out of playing is great,” Shannon said.
Shannon is also involved with the Whyalla Junior Soccer Association as the Wanderers club representative, and also as the association’s registrar.
Shannon said his love for local soccer and also for his club was what kept him involved.
“I’ve been pretty involved with Wanderers for about 17 years, and it’s just a great club,” he said.
“I enjoy coaching, and that’s why I do it.”
Whyalla Australia Day Sports Contribution Award – Michael Quinn
A coaching career spanning more than 20 years has seen Michael Quinn named a winner of the Australia Day Sports Contribution award.
Michael’s love for basketball began in Whyalla in 1995, when he began coaching the Whyalla Steelers combined team.
Throughout his time coaching the Whyalla Steelers, Michael has provided valuable assistance to more than 400 players and played a pivotal part in many triumphs.
Michael has coached both men’s and women’s teams, and has the coaching of various grades under his belt.
Michael also offers assistance to club coaches, with the intention of arming them with valuable skills that they can take back to their club to encourage a fair and competitive local competition.
For Michael, the reward is in the reaction, when a player learns a new skill, wins a game, or is named as part of a state team.
"The satisfaction when they make a state or national team, just seeing them improve in their skills and the looks on their faces when they achieve their goal makes it all worth it,” he said.
“I get so much satisfaction out of what I do; I enjoy every moment of it, and every year is different.”
Whyalla Australia Day Event of the Year – Steel City Drag Club Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series
A fast paced has been named the 2017 Australia Day Event of the Year.
In March 2016, Steel City Drag Club’s Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series event was all anybody could talk about.
The event attracted thousands of spectators, and boosted the city’s population by about 500 people for the weekend, with competitors coming from as far as Melbourne and Sydney to participate.
Put together by a small planning committee, Steel City Drag Club’s Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series provided a much needed economic boost for the city in a time of need.
Steel City Drag Club president Mark Kuhn said the event had been a resounding success.
The club has recently been undertaking a lot of work to upgrade the facilities at Steel City Drag Club.
“We put a lot of work into upgrading the facilities before this event, with a new track, new surface, new mounds and a lot more,” Mr Kuhn said.
It’s been a busy couple of months for club members, with records being made and awards being won.
The club was recently awarded a Volunteer of the Year award by ANDRA, which is the first time a club has won the award, rather than an individual.
A new record was also set, with a nitro funny car covering 200 metres of track in just 3.84 seconds at a speed of 188 miles per hour.
The work hasn’t stopped for Steel City Drag Club, with another major event coming up in March, with the summit round.
“We’re aiming to hold a lot of large, regular events, so that competitors can put it in their calendars, and they can plan to come back again and again,” Mr Kuhn said.
Whyalla Australia Day Community Service Award - Lisa Lorenz
Lisa Lorenz has a heart of gold, and all she really wants to do is show people that even in their darkest times, there are people out there that care.
Lisa has lived in Whyalla for 37 years, and now spends most of her time putting together care packages for people in need.
She makes keepsake boxes for families that have lost a child, sews teddy bears for the children’s ward, and also puts together care packages for people battling cancer.
Lisa said she felt humbled to be awarded a community service award.
“I didn’t think that what I did was big enough to qualify for something so beautiful, what I do is just what I do,” she said.
To Lisa, the thought of losing a baby is unbearable.
“I can’t think of anything worse than losing a baby, and that’s what inspired me to do the keepsake boxes,” she said.
“I’ve come across a few people that have lost a baby, I just want to give them a little bit of comfort in their darkest hours.
“I just want them to know that there is somebody out there that cares.”
Lisa said her biggest inspiration in life was Maree Bourke-Calliss, a local woman suffering from locked-in syndrome.
Lisa began caring for Maree several years ago, and despite being unable to continue on as Maree’s carer as a result of injury, she said she and Maree continued to be great friends.
“I enjoy spending time with Maree, and she really inspires me,” she said.
“I always say, ‘be the rainbow in somebody’s cloud.”
Lisa extends her giving to both friends and strangers, spending them with the people in her life that need a little extra help, and also extending a loving gesture to a stranger when they most need it.
Each year Lisa and her husband choose a family that have suffered hardship and buy their Christmas presents from them.
Lisa said the generosity and compassion shown throughout the community was what kept her inspired.
“I love living here, I love the people, I really love the community, I love the way they rally around if something happens and really support each other; you don’t find that in the city,” she said.
Whyalla Australia Day Community Service Award - Peter Brown
He’s known as Whyalla’s own Piano Man, and has dedicated more than 20 years to supporting local productions.
Peter Brown is the man to see if you’ve got a production in the pipeline, and spends much of his time stroking the keys to provide beautiful accompaniments for local shows.
For the past 20 years Peter has provided musical support for primary school choirs and theatre productions.
For more than 15 years he has committed months for rehearsal time to the Whyalla Players, most recently spending up to six months rehearsing for the Players’ 2016 production of Mary Poppins.
Peter said working with primary school aged children was always enjoyable, as the children truly appreciated the work he was putting in.
“I love working with the schools; primary school kids are the best, because they’re not old enough to give you attitude, but young enough to come up and talk to you,” he said.
“It’s amazing now, I go and play in the pubs in the bands and I have the 25 year olds and 30 year olds coming up to me saying ‘I remember you from when I used to sing in the choir, you played the piano for us’.”
While Peter commits his time to assisting local organisations and school groups, he makes sure he finds time to hit the pubs with his two bands, Tight Squeeze and The Steve Bartel Band.
Peter is without a doubt most well known as Whyalla’s own ‘Piano Man’, but is easily recognizable in his Adelaide Crows gear.
“I’ve been a Crows fan since day one,” he said.
“I’ve been there through all the rough times, then the glory times in ’97 and ‘98, and then ever since.”
Whyalla Australia Day Community Service Award - Graham Matters
Graham Matters is a man of true commitment, dedicating more years to many local organisations than many people will ever be able to.
Having lived in Whyalla for nearly 60 years, Graham has dedicated more than 50 years to being a Scout leader and working with his church, and more than 10 years with Meals on Wheels.
For Graham, working with children as his role with Scouts has always been rewarding.
“I always enjoyed being at what I call the coal face, working directly with the kids, rather than in a more administrative position,” he said.
“I’ve still got roll books from back in the mid ‘60s, and occasionally I look back and think of the kids that I’ve worked with, and remember them.”
Graham moved to Whyalla in about 1960, taking on an apprenticehip with ‘the company’, where he worked for more than 40 years.
It was not long after he moved to Whyalla that he became involved with the Uniting Church, where he still volunteers his time today.
Over the past three years Graham has taken on a different role with his church, sharing ministerial responsibilities with other church members in the absence of a minister.
Since retiring, Graham has been involved with Meals on Wheels, delivering meals to elderly residents a couple of times a month for the past 10 years.
For Graham, community involvement is second nature.
“It’s always nice to be recognised for what you do, but at the same time most of us don’t do it for that reason, we do it because there’s a need,” he said.
“I get a lot of enjoyment out of what I do; it’s like washing the dishes at a function, there’s a lot of good chit chat over the sink, so it’s not all work.”
Whyalla Australia Day Community Service Award - Allan Smith
For Allan Smith, volunteering for the community is all about seeing the faces of those around him light up with joy.
Throughout his time living in Whyalla Allan has been involved with many different organisations, and currently dons many different hats.
For the past 12 years, Allan has been a dedicated member of the Lions Club of Whyalla, and has held various positions with the club, including secretary, president and treasurer.
His involvement with Lions sees him take on many different tasks, including the organisation of the annual Carols in the Park event, which takes a good 12 months of organizing to get off the ground.
But Allan says the hard work is all worth it when he sees the happy faces of children and adults alike singing along to Christmas carols.
“I enjoy seeing the number of local people that come along and enjoy the evening,” he said.
“I just don’t feel like it’s Christmas until you start singing Christmas carols.”
Allan also dedicates a lot of his time to the Whyalla Road Safety Centre, where he has been a member for the past six years.
Allan is part of a small committee working towards continuous improvements at the centre, and teaching children the importance of road safety.
When he is not attending community events on behalf of Lions, or teaching children how to ride a bike, Allan can be found on the tennis court, nurturing his love for a game he has played for 60 years.
Allan’s love for the game still runs strong even 60 years later, and he makes time for a hit of tennis up to four times a week.
Whyalla Australia Day Community Service Award - Tamy Pond
Tamy Pond’s passion for Whyalla has never wavered, and in fact gets stronger and stronger by the day.
Tamy has lived in Whyalla since she was a child, and realised her love for the city early on.
She is currently employed with Stuart High School, working with disengaged children to help secure them a better life.
Much of Tamy’s work is centred on the city’s youth, a passion she says comes from her two daughters.
For the past 10 years Tamy has dedicated much of her time to delivering the city’s biggest event, the Whyalla Show.
“The Whyalla Show is a massive part of my life,” she said.
“I say I do the show for me; I do it for the community as well, but that is my time.”
Tamy has recently been involved with the Whyalla H.O.P.E Collective, which focuses on empowering people and breaking cycles to pave a better future for the city’s residents.
“We are a group of people trying to make a difference, particularly in the Whyalla Stuart area,” she said.
“We are aiming to encourage Health, Optimism, Pride, and Empowerment (H.O.P.E) to a community that needs it.”
Up until recently Tamy cited her biggest achievement as being the Whyalla Show, and the effort that had been made to transform it into a family fun atmosphere.
However Tamy now sees her biggest success as the work that has been done with the H.O.P.E Collective.
“I’m really proud of the success we’ve had trying to make a difference, empower people in the Whyalla Stuart area, trying to break cycles, and we didn’t realise how much leeway we’d made until we put a slide show together,” Tamy said.
“We were gobsmacked by how much progress we’ve made in a year and a half.”
Tamy said her love of Whyalla would never falter, and she would continue to work hard for the community she loves for as long as she could.
“I just want the best for everybody here; I’m big on providing opportunities for those less fortunate,” she said.
“Everybody needs some help at one stage of their life, and they might not know about how to go about getting that help.
“I think that is why I’m here on this earth, to help people, I feel like that’s my calling.
“And of course I am very fortunate to be surrounded with a wonderful group of hard working and supportive people who help me whenever they can.”