Council congratulates the Young Citizen of the Year nominees for the Golden Plains Shire Council Community Awards 2020.
The Golden Plains Shire Council (GPSC) Community Awards 2020 are an opportunity to formally acknowledge extraordinary individuals and community groups who make an outstanding contribution to Golden Plains Shire.
This year, an impressive field of local residents and community groups have been nominated by their fellow community members for awards in four categories: Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, and Community Impact Award.
Congratulations to the seven nominees for the GPSC Young Citizen of the Year 2020:
Emily & William Bradley
Emily and William (Will) Bradley of Batesford were nominated for their community spirit and being active contributors to the Golden Plains Youth program during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to being a participant in the weekly trivia program, Will helped build the quizzes based on the interests of his fellow participants. Emily helped design the popular Social Isolation Photography competition to keep young people in the Shire entertained and connected during the first lockdown period. During isolation, Emily and Will delivered chalk to the houses in their street so that children could draw on their footpaths to brighten up everyone's daily walks, delivered baking to people’s front doors, and threw an “ISO Graduation Party” outside for a small number of neighbourhood children when they received the news that they were allowed to go back to school. Congratulations Emily and Will!
Sophie Busuttil
Smythes Creek’s Sophie Busuttil is a nominee for Young Citizen of the Year for her selfless acts and generosity. In 2020, the year nine student donated her hair to Sustainable Salons, who collect ponytails and distribute them to charitable organisations and local wigmakers to become wigs for those suffering from medically induced hair-loss conditions. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sophie decided to support the youth mental health organisation Headspace Ballarat through creating and selling “clay friends” pins. With $2 from every pin allocated to Headspace, Sophie's goal was to donate $200 to the organisation by Christmas, which she easily surpassed. Congratulations Sophie!
Megan & Rachel Kaiser
Megan and Rachel Kaiser of Maude were inaugural members of the Golden Plains Soccer Club (established in 2012) and have been highly involved in not only playing, but also in mentoring and assisting the growth of the sport in Golden Plains Shire. The sisters are currently part of the senior women’s squad and are wonderful role models for the younger girls coming into the squad. They are involved in coaching and school clinics, as well as always being available whenever they can to help out with the Miniroo and junior girls. In addition to being an integral part of the club, Megan and Rachel are also involved in many other charity projects, including Walk for Water in July 2019 and empowering youth through Council’s Youth Committee. Congratulations Megan and Rachel!
Charlie Thompson
Lethbridge local Charlie Thompson has been nominated for his continued contribution to Council’s Youth program. Charlie attends regular Youth Development team meetings and was the lead organiser for the Battle of the Bands event held in Bannockburn 2019, which had over 200 people in attendance. He was instrumental in identifying and engaging suitable local bands to perform which contributed to the popularity of the event. While COVID-19 put plans on hold for face-to-face community events in 2020, Charlie participated in the online 'sessions' program, demonstrating his passion and skills with the drum set with a live performance, which provided a much-needed social connection for local young people. Also, during 2020, he managed to start his own online business, Championship Vinyl, selling second-hand vinyl records through Facebook. Congratulations Charlie!
Jakob Wray
Jakob Wray of Bannockburn has been recognised for his sporting achievements in archery. Jakob has been a member of the Geelong Archers Inc since 2015 and began competing during 2017 in the Intermediate Class (up to 15 years of age) in the Compound Bow Division. In 2018 and 2019, Jakob became recognised as a fiercely competitive archer, and soon began winning major tournaments throughout Victoria and Australia in his division and class. He soon became recognised by Archery Australia Inc with admission to the Regional Development Program and was admitted as a member of the Archery Victoria State Team. Jakob was named in the National and State Teams to major competitions, both in Australia and New Zealand. Congratulations Jakob!
The GPSC Community Awards 2020 nominees will be recognised, and the award-winners will be named, at Council’s Australia Day event on Tuesday 26 January, along with the Citizenship Ceremony. Due to COVID guidelines, event attendance is limited and by invitation, however the event will be livestreamed on Council’s YouTube channel. A link will be provided the day prior to the event at Council’s website: goldenplains.vic.gov.au.
For more information on the GPSC Community Awards 2020 nominees, click here.