Citizen of the Year
A great congratulations to all of the nominees of the 2024 Citizen of the Year Awards. We acknowledge and appreciate the work that you all do in the Inner West Community.
Discover more about all the nominees for this year's Awards via the 2024 Community Awards digital presentation.
Adult Citizen of the Year
George Catsi
Recipient
George Catsi has led the community revival of the Petersham Bowling Club through his ongoing work as a vocal advocate to reduce the ongoing harm caused by gambling and poker machines. As a result, George has fostered a thriving community club that hosts live music, entertainment and a place for cultural groups to come together and connect.
Anna Harvey
Special recognition for her efforts towards a more sustainable and equitable future
Anna is a dynamic force within her community demonstrating the true spirit of activism. Her dedication to various organisations, including the Inner West Environment Advisory Committee, Friends of Iron Cove Creek, Inner West Families for Climate Action, Climate Change Balmain Rozelle, and Parents for Climate Action, is exemplary of her commitment to promoting a sustainable future.
King Rakic
Nominee
King fulfils any commitment he makes to his local neighbourhood. This is evident in his unwavering compassion and his dedication to help his local community. King offers a network of support to his neighbours to adapt to new Council intiatives, for example the launch of the FOGO bins and underdanding how it works.
Alys McLennan
Nominee
Alys is a specialist counsellor for children, youths, adults and families in the field of trauma, abuse and crime. She has dedicated her career and unwavering commitment to supporting and advocating for vulnerable persons throughout their recovery journey towards post traumatic growth.
Sabrina Metter
Nominee
Sabrina is very committed to sustainability and supports the ECEC service to strive towards excellence in the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social. The notion of sustainability is closely interconnected with community and indigenous perspectives. This is because sustainability aims at promoting respect, equity and quality of life for each individual, and supporting businesses, while preserving the environment.
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Jenny Collins-White
Nominee
On both a personal and professional basis, Jenny has been a strong advocate for refugees for over 20 years. She has been instrumental in designing programs to raise awareness of the issues of refugees and asylum seekers and devoted much of her own time to assist them in practical ways and support their emotional well-being.
Frank Portegys
Nominee
Frank is President of the Mort Bay Community Garden Association, which has 125 members. These local volunteers have been growing vegetables in the community since 2011. As the president, Frank has been instrumental in developing the group and community garden so that it offers a green, calm, cool, beautiful environment that benefits the whole neighbourhood.
Young Citizen of the Year
Tyrone Lawson and Joshua Jarrett
Recipient
Tyrone and Joshua have been involved with projects organised by the Inner West Police Area Command, assisting vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community. For example, the boys learnt the safe use of garden tools to enhance their knowledge and extend their help to those who needed it most. Their determination to help others have inspired many of their peers to engage in volunteer work in their local community on a regular basis.
Matthew Vasic
Special Recognition for social justice and promoting cross-cultural understanding
Since 2020, Matthew has volunteered at the Exodus Foundation. The Exodus Foundation is a vital support service for homeless and disadvantaged people in the Inner West. Matthew continues to work in a frontline capacity serving customers food as well as assisting the catering staff with meal preparation.
Brendan Couley-Mehigan
Nominee
Brendan Couley-Mehigan is an outstanding young person with strong leadership qualities and a commitment to contribute to our local community through this exemplary volunteer work, dedication to the Air Force Cadets, and commitment to St John's First Aid duties.
Audrey Storer
Nominee
Audrey is a co-founder and leader of the Addiroad Youth Collective. She has used her position to mobilise and organise youth under the age of 18 to participate in giving back to the community. She has supported and worked tirelessly on hamper making and providing entertainment to 300+ residents of the Inner West who gather at Addi Road to make special Christmas Hampers.
Senior Citizen of the Year
Gisele Yvette Jeanne Mesnage
Recipient
Gisele has advocated for the rights of people with disabilities for fifteen years and aims to make the Inner West a safe and accessible place for all. When Gisele and her dog, Nyota moved to the Inner West in 2011, she very soon realised, as a blind person using a guide dog, that Cardinal Freeman Village was surrounded by very busy roads and was restrictive and dangerous for herself, other seniors and pedestrians with mobility issues.
Rosa Loria
Special recognition for establishing free or funded types of services and assistances to all community members
Rosa, for more than 46 years, has been dedicated to establishing free or funded types of services, casework, and many other assistances to all community segments. Rosa and Sydney MCS assist thousand of migrants, refugees, students and other community members by providing settlement programs.
Liqing Du
Nominee
At the age of 84, Liqing continues to teach members of the CASS Ashfield Activity Group to move and dance together with they meet once a week. She says "Singing and dancing brings happiness, joy and entertainment to many people, doing volunteering work at the same time not only allows me to meet like-minded people within the community but also enables me to give back, learn and share news and information in the Ashfield community.
Patrick & Rachele O'Reilly
Nominee
Patrick and Rachele from Impact Events have been organising the Norton St Festa for the past twelve years, with little reward other than their costs being covered. It's a huge undertaking, pulling together the council, stallholders from Leichhardt and surrounding suburbs, and of course, hundreds of thousands of people to the area.
About The Awards
The Inner West Council Citizen, Senior Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year Awards aim to recognise outstanding contributions from individuals within the inner west community.
Award Categories
Young Citizen of the Year
Recognises the great work of a young community member (aged 24 or younger as of today) who lives, studies or works within the Inner West Council area, and has made a positive contribution to the community.
Adult Citizen of the Year
Recognises the great work of an adult community member (aged between 25-64 as of today) who lives, studies or works within the Inner West Council area, and has made a positive contribution to the community.
Senior Citizen of the Year
Recognises the great work of a senior community member (aged 65 or older as of today) who lives, studies or works within the Inner West Council area, and has made a positive contribution to the community.
Further Information
Eligibility
- Must not be Members of Parliament, former Councillors, or employees of Inner West Council.
- Must be nominated by someone other than themselves.
- Cannot be considered for a second award in a category in which they have already received an award in a previous year; however future recognition is possible in one of the other two available awards. For example, a person who has previously been awarded a Young Citizen of the Year award would be eligible for consideration under the Citizen of the Year or Senior Citizen of the Year categories in a following year.
- Young Citizen of the Year Award nominees must be aged 24 years or under at the time of nomination.
- Adult Citizen of the Year Award nominees must be aged between 25 and 64 at the time of nomination.
- Senior Citizen of the Year Award nominees must be aged 65 or over at the time of nomination.
- Council reserves the right to withdraw an award if further information or the recipient's conduct draws the Council awards into disrepute.
- Awards will not be granted posthumously.
Nomination Guidelines
The nominee must have contributed significantly to their community in any field. The contribution will demonstrate an active concern for the rights, welfare, wellbeing and/or the advancement of others. Such a contribution could have been made to the general community, community groups, or individuals within the community. A person may be considered who has displayed an act of compassion, generosity or bravery.
Translation Services
Council staff can help you submit a nomination in English. If you need our help, please call us using the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS). This is a FREE service. TIS phone number: 131 450 Ask the TIS interpreter to call 9392 5177.
消委会工作人员可以帮助你用英语提交的提名。如果您需要我们的帮助，请通过翻译和口译服务（TIS）给我们打电话。这是一个 免费的 服务。TIS电话号码：131 450询问TIS的传译员致电何超仪在9392 5177
يمكن لموظفي المجلس مساعدتك في تقديم ترشيح باللغة الانجليزيه. إذا كنت بحاجه إلى مساعدتنا ، يرجى الاتصال بنا باستخدام خدمه الترجمة والتفسير (TIS). هذه خدمه مجانية. tis رقم الهاتف: 131 450 اطلب من مترجم tis للاتصال جوزي في 9392 5177.
Nhân viên Hội đồng có thể giúp bạn gửi một đề cử bằng tiếng Anh. Nếu bạn cần sự giúp đỡ của chúng tôi, xin vui lòng gọi cho chúng tôi bằng cách sử dụng Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS). Đây là một miễn phí dịch vụ. TIS số điện thoại: 131 450 Hỏi người phiên dịch TIS gọi 9392 5177
Consiglio personale può aiutare a presentare una candidatura in lingua inglese. Se avete bisogno del nostro aiuto, si prega di telefonare utilizzando il servizio di traduzione e interpretariato (TIS). Si tratta di un libero servizio. TIS numero di telefono: 131 450 Chiedi l'interprete TIS di chiamare 9392 5177
Το προσωπικό του Συμβουλίου μπορεί να σας βοηθήσει να υποβάλουν υποψηφιότητα στα αγγλικά. Αν χρειάζεστε βοήθεια μας, παρακαλούμε επικοινωνήστε μαζί μας χρησιμοποιώντας την Υπηρεσία Μεταφραστών και Διερμηνέων (TIS). Αυτή είναι μια δωρεάν υπηρεσία. ΤΗΣ τον αριθμό τηλεφώνου: 131 450 Ζητήστε από το διερμηνέα TIS να καλέσει 9392 5177
परिषद कर्मचारी तपाईं अंग्रेजी मा एक नामांकन पेश मद्दत गर्न सक्छ। तपाईं हाम्रो सहायता आवश्यक छ भने, अनुवाद र व्याख्या सेवा (TIS) को प्रयोग गरेर हामीलाई कल गर्नुहोस्। यो एक हो मुफ्त सेवा। TIS फोन नम्बर: 131 450 मा कल गर्न TIS दोभासे सोध्नुहोस् 9392 5177
Pessoal do Conselho pode ajudá-lo a enviar uma nomeação em Inglês. Se você precisar de nossa ajuda, por favor contacte-nos através do Tradução e Interpretação (TIS). Esta é uma LIVRE serviço. TIS número de telefone: 131 450 Pergunte ao intérprete do TIS para chamar 9392 5177
Previous Award Recipients
Read about the past award recipients
Help and Support
Contact our team by email: awards@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
Or give us a call on 9392 5177