The search for Whyalla’s most dedicated and deserving community members continues, with the nomination deadline now extended for a further month.
The annual citizen awards celebrate the city’s many generous residents and achievers, who tirelessly give up their time to give back to the community.
Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin thanked those people who have already taken the time to nominate others.
“We know there are so many people who deserve to be recognised for their efforts in making our city an even better place to live and so we’ve extended the nomination deadline until 18 December” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“This year has seen us all have to adapt to overcome adversity, so I’m sure there are many examples of people helping others to cope with these unique challenges, while being excellent role models for the community.”
Mayor McLaughlin also encouraged re-nominating people who may have missed out on an award in the past.
"Previous judging has been tough with community members nominated from all walks of life. Many very worthy nominations just missed out, so please try again and consider re-nominating these people for consideration in next year’s awards" Mayor McLaughlin said.
Andrew Eades, Whyalla’s current Citizen of the Year, encouraged locals to nominate people for next year’s Australia Day awards.
“I’m sure there are a lot of quiet achievers in our community who would never even think about nominating for these awards. That’s why it’s so important that others nominate them.
I was absolutely humbled by the experience and thankful to the person who took the time to nominate me.
Please have a think about the people you know - your friends, your neighbours, your family – there are so many people within our community who give back and deserve to be recognised in this way” Andrew said.
Nomination forms are available from: https://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/our-city/australia-day-nominations, Council’s civic building on Darling Terrace, and the Whyalla Public Library.
Nominations close at 5pm on Friday 18 December.
Next year’s Australia Day celebrations will be slightly different, with the finalists presented to the community at a free barbecue brunch at Ada Ryan Gardens, followed by a day of free activities at the Whyalla Recreation Centre. A free community bus will be available throughout the day to enable all residents to attend. Please note that celebrations will be subject to any applicable covid-19 restrictions.
About the awards:
The 2021 Australia Day Awards will feature 11 categories, with the citizen, young citizen, senior citizen, sports achievement, event of the year, and six community achievement awards to be presented.
The citizen, senior citizen and young citizen categories reward and recognise individuals who have made a noteworthy contribution during the past year, while having regard to their previous achievements and ongoing contribution over and above normal employment duties.
Outstanding contribution and community service include areas such as education, health, fundraising, charitable and voluntary service, business, sport, arts, the environment, or any other area that contributes to the advancement and wellbeing of the community.
To be eligible, the person must be an Australian citizen, and under 30 years of age on 26 January 2021 for the young citizen category, or over 65 for the senior citizen award.
The community event of the year will be awarded to either a person or group that has staged the most outstanding community event during the past year.
The sports achievement award will be presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sporting community during the past year, focusing on volunteer involvements in preference to individual achievements. This may cover fundraising, club administration, helping around the club with weekly duties, club maintenance and umpiring.
Community service awards recognise residents who have given outstanding service to a single organisation or field of endeavour.
Mayor Clare McLaughlin, left, with Andrew Eades, Whyalla’s 2020 Citizen of the Year.