Nominations for Regional Australia Day awards close on 31st of October, and with the date creeping in, it’s not too late to nominate someone in the Western Downs region, who you believe has done great things, and deserves to be seen by all.

With the award to be presented next year, 26th of January 2020, the nominations are there to acknowledge those who have done most for their region, impacting them and others in a positive light. The regional award category consists of:

  1. Citizen of the year and
  2. Young citizen of the year (age 16-23).

Likewise, the local awards consist of:

  1. Volunteer of the year
  2. Community organisation achievement award
  3. Creative arts award, and
  4. Sports award.

In 2017, Australia Day Award winner, principal of Dalby State High School, Dean Russell, says it was a real honor of being nominated by his work colleagues.  “As a bike racer, I was lucky enough to win the Western Downs Regional Council Sports Award. At that time I had some good results in both national and international competitions but my coaching work also allows me to help lots of young people, not just in Dalby but in other parts of the state.”

If needing any assistance in nominating, one of the many Western Downs Regional libraries or Council’s Customer Contact Centers all have helpful staff to help out in filling the online form.

“I felt both proud and humbled at the ceremony because often I’m competing away from home, so it was wonderful to attend the Australia Day ceremony with my family, it’s become a wonderful memory for me,” said Russell. Western Downs Mayor Paul McVeigh said, “Nominees don’t have to be living here for decades to be worthy, we know that many people have done great things within a short time.”

“We are relying on our residents to help us recognise achievement in our region so the more nominations we have, the better,” Mayor McVeigh said.

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