Australia Day Awards
Indigo Shire Council Australia Day Awards celebrate the contribution of individuals, community organisations and businesses in the region. These prestigious awards are designed to pay tribute to those who make extraordinary contributions to society or who are outstanding achievers in the community.
The Australia Day Awards are a great opportunity for you to recognise a friend, family member, community leader or colleague who has made a beneficial contribution to the Indigo community.
What are the Australia Day Awards?
Each year Council invites community members to nominate for the prestigious Australia Day Awards which are presented to local individuals and groups who have made outstanding contributions to our community.
Awards are:
- Indigo Shire Citizen of the Year
- Indigo Shire Young Citizen of the Year
- Indigo Shire Community Organisation of the Year
- Beechworth & District Certificate of Achievement
- Rutherglen & District Certificate of Appreciation
- Chiltern & District Certificate of Appreciation
- Yackandandah & District Certificate of Appreciation
- Barnawartha & District Certificate of Appreciation
- Kiewa-Tangambalanga & District Certificate of Appreciation
- Emma George Junior Sporting Scholarship
Who is eligible to be nominated?
The awards are open to individuals who reside within and groups who conduct their activities within Indigo Shire.
How does someone become nominated?
Anyone can nominate by completing the appropriate category Nomination Form and returning it to Council.
Nominations must be accompanied by suitable details to assist the judging panel.
An individual or group may be nominated in one category only. All nominations must comply with the General Conditions of Entry, have a nominator and referee and submit the required documentation addressing all areas of the selection criteria.
What happens once someone is nominated?
The Nomination Form is registered and a letter acknowledging receipt of nomination is sent to both the nominator and the nominee. Once nominations close the nomination forms are forwarded to the Australia Day Selection Panel. The panel will preside over the nominations and determine the award recipients. Nominees may, at the discretion of the Selection Panel, be transferred to another category.
Nominations close 30 November 2011. Nomination and application forms are available from Council’s Beechworth and Yackandandah offices, and Chiltern and Rutherglen Customer Service Centres and from the links below:
Nomination Form Australia Day Awards
Nomination Form & Guidelines - Emma George Sporting Scholarship
For further information please contact Noni Hemann on 02 6028 1154 or 1300 365 003 during normal office hours or email nhemann@indigoshire.vic.gov.au.
The 2011 award recipients:
Citizen of the year: Mrs Patricia O'Connor of Chiltern. Pat has an active but humble community spirit. Before retirement, Pat worked as a teacher and in child welfare, and has been involved in many charities in the Chiltern area.
Young Citizen of the year: Mr Tyson Knight from the Indigo Valley has risen quickly to be the best in his field, winning a silver medal in the World Skills competition for his trade of plumbing.
Community organisation of the year: The Rotary Club of Rutherglen is always supporting local groups either financially or with voluntary labour. Not only does it support local groups, but national and international groups as well.
Emma George Junior Sporting Scholarship: Mr Michael Menzie of Beechworth. Michael is an exceptional hockey player who has represented his region and will represent Australia in 2011.
Beechworth and District Certificate of Achievement: Mr Graeme Smart of Beechworth. Graeme has been actively involved in the Beechworth Lions Club, as well as other community groups, and is a very proud Beechworth resident.
Chiltern and District Certificate of Achievement: Mr Charles Summerfield of Chiltern. Charles was an inaugural member of the Chiltern Lions Club and has been involved with a number of community groups.
(Charles' daughter - Debbie Summerfield will be accepting the award on behalf of Charles)
Rutherglen and District Certificate of Achievement: Mr Stephen Ronnfeldt of Rutherglen. Stephen is an inspirational community leader, who has been involved in a number of community groups and fundraising efforts.
Yackandandah and District Certificate of Achievement: Mr James Trenery of Yackandandah. James is involved with a number of sporting clubs in the area, as well as the Yackandandah Lions Club.
Kiewa - Tangambalanga Certificate of Achievement: Mr George Kelley & Mrs Coral Kelley of Tangambalanga have been active members of countless community groups and are always wiling to help out.
Barnawartha and District Certificate of Achievement: Mr William Simmons of Barnawartha. William volunteers for many sporting groups in the area and is involved in almost every event sporting event around Barnawartha.