OUTSTANDING community members will be honoured at the Casey Australia Day Awards today (Thursday, 26 January).
City of Casey Mayor Sam Aziz said the annual recognition event, formerly known as the Casey Citizens of the Year Awards, provided an opportunity for residents to recognise and thank the people who make a significant contribution to the local community.
“The City of Casey is very fortunate to have so many residents who are dedicated to enhancing the wellbeing of the community. On behalf of the city, I would like to congratulate all the nominees for the very valuable and worthwhile work they do,” Cr Aziz said.
“These 18 nominees are a reflection of the dedicated people who contribute so much to the Casey community.
“Many of the nominees work tirelessly to assist local organisations, and are committed to making the City of Casey an even better place to live, work and raise a family.”
All nominees will be presented with certificates, and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Australia Day and published on the City of Casey’s website at www.casey.vic.gov.au/australiaday.
The 2012 Australia Day individual nominees are:
Virginia Bush, Brenda Chessum, Bette Clydesdale, Jack Cummings, Mia Englezos, Darren Gibson, Ryan Gomez, Therese Howell, Tim Howell, David Leak, Diane Leak, Juan Carlos Loyola OAM, Thomas Niazmand, Brian Regan, Susan Serey, Morad Tadros, Margaret Tinschert JP, Jessica Wijeratne.
Nominations for the fundraising event/activity are:
Lions Tooradin Community Market- Lions Club of Balla Balla, Casey Cardinia Relay for Life-Casey Cardinia Relay for Live Volunteer Organising Committee, Casey Cares Flood Benefit Concert-Casey Cares Organising Committee.
Nominations for the community event/activity are:
Cranbourne Blue Light Disco- Cranbourne Blue Light Disco Committee, Hampton Park Community Garden Open Day-Hampton Park Community Garden Open Day Committee, Coastal Villages Art Group-Art Exhibition- Warneet Association Inc, Interfaith Dinner- Lajna Tmaillah Association (Ahmadiyya), Narre Warren North Christmas Carols- Narre Warren North Uniting Church and Community Carols Committee.
The successful City of Casey Australia Day Study Tour recipients will also be announced at Council’s Australia Day Ceremony. As part of the five-day tour, 10 Year 11 students will have the opportunity to observe and learn about local, state and federal government.
Three Casey residents have also been nominated in the Cardinia Shire Australia Day awards.
Marlene Dalziel from Cranbourne has been nominated for a Community Service Award in the Cardinia Shire Australia Day awards. Ms Dalziel has worked with the Cockatoo community in developing a range of community activities such as the community garden, the men’s shed and the women’s healing group. She is instrumental in attracting funding from various funding bodies to get these programs up and running.
Michael Muaremov from Narre Warren North has been nominated for a Community Service award in the Cardinia Shire Australia Day awards. He is a past president of the Beaconsfield Progress Association and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Beaconsfield Community Bank and the Beaconsfield business group.
Michelle Newton from Narre Warren runs the Pakenham Baby and Kids Expo which was nominated for a community event award in the Cardinia Shire Australia Day awards. Pakenham Pregnancy, Baby and Kids expo held their first expo this year which provided a range of information to parents and parents to be in the area. The door fee was donated to a range of community groups who provided services within the Cardinia Shire. Local small businesses were also given a chance to showcase their products.
