Wollongong City Council has announced the Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Cultural Award and Community Award winners at a dinner held this evening in the lead-up to Council’s Australia Day celebrations.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM congratulated all of the nominees, saying each of them demonstrated a strong community focus.
“On behalf of Council, I’d like to congratulate our Australia Day award winners and everyone who was nominated,” Cr Bradbery said.
“Each one has contributed a huge amount to our community and this is a chance to recognise their efforts. It’s a diverse group of people but what they have in common is that they are all incredibly passionate and care about the wellbeing of others.”
The 2012 Citizen of the Year has been awarded to Grant Plecas of Tarrawanna, who is a dedicated volunteer. Grant has organised the Relay for Life in NSW since 2001, an event which raised more than $400,000 for cancer research last year alone. The father of five also assists with the Mothers Day Classic in Wollongong and fundraising events such as Pink Ribbon month and the annual Great Ocean Pool Crawl.
This year’s Cultural Award winner is El Salvador-born Gerardo Guevara, from Figtree. Gerardo arrived in Australia as a young boy and acted as the sole provider for his family after his father passed away. Gerardo is now a teacher of students with special needs at Keira High School and is passionate about teaching. With a Masters Degree in Creative Arts and a Diploma in Education, Gerardo has curated a number of exhibitions featuring his students’ works.
Makenzie Russell, from Gwynneville, is the 2012 Young Citizen of the Year, having been recognised for her leadership at school and in the community. Makenzie initiated an indigenous awareness campaign as part of NAIDOC week highlighting the education gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children. She is also involved with fundraising activities such as Good Sam’s Day and the Op Shop Ball.
The 2012 Community Award winner is the Migration Heritage Project (MHP) which aims to protect and promote the heritage of the Illawarra’s diverse cultural communities. The MHP undertook a range of projects last year, including producing a heritage story book and e-book and organising the ‘Generations’ exhibition at Wollongong City Gallery.
A cash donation will be given on behalf of the award winners to a charity of their choice. These include the RSPCA, the Good Samaritan Sisters East Timor Project, Children’s Cancer Institute, and the Cancer Council.