Whyalla’s inspirational citizens were recognised and celebrated at the recent Australia Day Awards ceremony.
The Citizen of the Year awards provide recognition for some of the outstanding achievements of Whyalla residents and are part of Whyalla City Council's commitment to strengthening community pride and participation within the city.
If you would like to nominate a deserving individual for next year's awards visit our Citizen of the Year Awards Page
Council is excited to announce this year’s winners:
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR: Trish Thwaites
SENIOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR: Heidi French
Norman Bruce Coulter
YOUNG CITIZEN OF THE YEAR: Tahlia Reeves
EVENT OF THE YEAR: 2021 Whyalla Show (Whyalla Show Society)
SPORTS CONTRIBUTION AWARD: Sean Sheedy
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS:
Graeme Stephenson
Dennis Dugan
Wellness Sisters
Tamy Pond
Trish Thwaites
Kylie Clayton
Glenn Clayton
Benjamin Williams
Mayor Clare McLaughlin said the judges had a hard time selecting the winners and paid tribute to all of those that have won an award, as well as those community members who took the time to submit nominations.
“The award winners are the people that work tirelessly and selflessly to help make our community thrive - we all owe them a great deal of thanks,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“They are truly inspiring and encourage us all to go that little bit further to help others in the community.
“They don’t ask for thanks, but that’s exactly what we are going to give them for the contributions they make to create a city and a community we can all be proud of.”
To help protect the health and safety of the community, this year’s Australia Day will look a little different. Council will hold a series of small gatherings for those receiving their Australian Citizenships and to present the Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards. These gatherings are for invited guests only. However, the community can still get involved by tuning in to the live stream via council’s Facebook page (see details below).
The Whyalla Harriers Beyond Bank 2022 Australia Day Fun Run is still proceeding.
For more information and to register, head to the Whyalla Harriers website or keep an eye on their Facebook page. Participants are asked to behave in a COVID-safe manner at all times and follow instructions from course marshals.
BIOS
Whyalla 2022 Citizen of the Year Trish Thwaites
Over the past 10 years, Trish has made a difference to the lives of many families in our community at Christmas time. Starting in 2011 by simply packing up leftover food and drinks with her daughter and donating them to a disadvantaged family, Trish’s Christmas Hampers for The Less Fortunate has steadily grown to the point she needed to purchase new shelving to hold all the donations she was receiving!
Each year, Trish has continued to reach out for donations, which she then wraps and delivers to families in need, one year wrapping 200 boxes!
Since starting, Trish has impacted the lives of over 600 people, helping families to feel loved and supported at Christmas time.
Whyalla 2022 Senior Citizen of the Year Heidi French
Heidi has a love and passion for gardening and is a true gem of our community. Heidi has been volunteering for over 15 years at Ada Ryan Gardens – always working hard to help keep our gardens looking fantastic and often bringing in her own plants to add to the gardens.
Heidi has an amazing work ethic, a positive attitude and is dedicated to making our community a better place.
The team that works with Heidi describes her as a real inspiration and pillar of our community
Whyalla 2022 Senior Citizen of the Year Bruce Coulter
Bruce has been heavily involved in the Whyalla Community since arriving to our city in 1972.
He has been an active member of several community organisations, where the length of his continuous volunteer service has been exceptional. This includes Rotary and Lions, where he has held managerial positions and assisted in exchange and apprentice programs.
Bruce has also been heavily involved in Whyalla Sea Rescue as a boat captain, assisting in many sea rescue activities over the years.
Whyalla 2022 Young Citizen of the Year Tahlia Reeves
Tahlia is an inspiring young lady, who has had an outstanding year both academically and in the community.
As a Samaritan College House Captain, Tahlia led her team to the Sports Day Cup and Cheerleading Award.
Tahlia has also been heavily involved in Steel City Hockey Club, coaching under 8s, completing her referees’ ticket, volunteering in the canteen and winning the junior club person of the year award.
Tahlia finished her schooling year winning several awards, including the Samaritan College 2021 Student of the Year.
Whyalla 2022 Event of the Year 2021 Whyalla Show
The 2021 Whyalla Show was a huge success in the most trying of times.
With a number of similar events cancelled around the state due to the COVID climate, the organising committee worked incredibly hard with SA Health and spent many, many hours working through the complexities, restrictions, and requirements to enable the event to proceed for our community.
The event was a resounding success thanks to the determination and hard work of organisers and the many volunteers that came on board to make it all possible.
Whyalla 2022 Sports Contribution Award Sean Sheedy
Sean has been an exceptional contributor to Whyalla basketball, in particular through the Whyalla Steelers program where he encourages children to pursue their dreams and participate at the highest level.
For over 14 years, Sean has given up his time over Christmas to ensure local basketballers are ready to compete at a State Level.
Sean’s core focus is developing children’s skills, knowledge and attitudes towards each other and the game, helping make them better people both on and off the court.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS
Community Service award Graeme Stephenson
Graeme ‘Red’ Stephenson is a great ambassador for Whyalla.
When COVID put a stop to live gigs in 2020, Red adapted by purchasing equipment to livestream to the community via his Facebook page, while also promoting our city to fans across the world.
His efforts helped lift spirits and connect people and communities during a very difficult time.
Community Service Award Dennis Dugan
Dennis volunteers his time doing gardening and maintenance for resident who have lost loved ones or are struggling through hard times.
Dennis and his wife Sylvia have also volunteered at the Whyalla Cemetery, as well as volunteering for Whyalla Foodbank by delivering food, assisting in the warehouse and promoting and encouraging others to get involved and help those in need.
Community Service Award Wellness Sisters
The Wellness Sisters are a group of women with breast cancer who came together to support each other through their cancer experience, before growing to support the wider community.
They now assist financially-disadvantaged people and actively fundraise, becoming a registered not-for-profit charity.
With the help of the community’s generosity, the Wellness Sisters have raised over $11,000, which is directly channelled into local families impacted by cancer.
Community Service Award Tamy Pond
Tamy has played an instrumental role in ensuring that a number of Community Events were able to proceed last year.
Spending hours working through the complexities of COVID-safe management plans, Tamy led a team to deliver the Whyalla Show and Whyalla Christmas Carols events.
Tamy has also been an instrumental member of the Whyalla NAIDOC committee for a number of years.
Community Service Award Trish Thwaites
Trish has made a difference to the lives of many families in our community at Christmas time thanks to her initiative – Trish’s Christmas Hampers for the less fortunate.
Over 10 years, Trish has helped hundreds of families to feel loved and supported while improving the Christmas experience for those in their household.
Community Service Award Kylie Clayton
Kylie has made a significant contribution as a volunteer to local arts and education over many years.
Kylie has served on numerous school governing councils and canteens; been a voluntary teacher at Y Dance for over 30 years, including arranging community performances; as well as supporting performances by the Whyalla Players, Whyalla High School and Whyalla Combined Choir
Community Service Award Glenn Clayton
Glenn has been heavily involved in volunteering for the Whyalla Tennis League, doing everything from working the bar to writing results for the Whyalla News.
He has also supported his wife and children with their dance concerts, making and painting sets and helping backstage; and also regularly raises money for men’s health through the ‘Ski For Life” event.
Community Service Award Benjamin Williams
Ben has been a long-time volunteer for Neighbourhood Watch, holding various key positions and winning numerous awards along the way.
Ben is also a great supporter of the Whyalla Pink Spirits Breast Cancer Support Group – doing all the heavy lifting to help setup for events – and also makes himself available to the community as a Justice of the Peace.
Facebook Live Streaming Schedule: -
SESSION ONE 10.15am Start – Australia Day Citizenship Presentation
- Mr Bhagwant SINGH
- Ms Margaret BREMNER
- Mr Paul EVANS
- Mr Elarbi FELLAH
- Mr Chen-Yu LIU
- Mrs Chiu-Mei Wu
SESSION TWO 11.15am Start– Australia Day Citizenship Presentation
- Mrs Poonam KATARIA
- Mr Surender SINGH
- Master Nischay SAHARAN
- Master Sanyam SAHARAN
- Ms Donna TE MIHA
- Ms Sherry OMADTO
- Mr Stephen White
SESSION THREE 12.15pm Start – Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards
- Community Service Awards
- Sports Contribution Award
- Event of the Year
- Senior Citizen of the Year
- Young Citizen of the Year
- Citizen of the Year