CELEBRATING the nominees for the Australia Day Awards, City of Coffs Harbour Mayor Paul Amos said it was an honour to stand before the gathered crowd on Australia Day in the North Coast Botanic Gardens to pay tribute to the unsung heroes in our community.

“Thousands of hours are donated by volunteers, charities, cultural organisations, and a huge variety of support networks in Coffs Harbour as well as those who give up their own time to look after our environment.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

“Today we are honouring some of those citizens who have single-handedly, or as part of an organisation, contributed hugely to our community.

“I’d like to acknowledge the contributions made by all our nominees,” said Mayor Amos.

“None of them has sought public recognition for their work but I’d like to thank them all personally, and on behalf of the community.

“All of you are tremendous role models,” he closed.

Citizen of the Year nominee Cheryl Post has been volunteering at Lifeline for the past six years and has been vital in supporting the recruitment of other retail volunteers for the Lifeline shops and maintaining a healthy volunteer culture, despite having her own health challenges.

If she knows someone is having a difficult time, Cheryl will always help support them as much as she can to ensure they feel valued and cared for.

Mayor’s Community Spirit Award nominee Matt Donovan played an instrumental role in the rescue of two people at the North Wall on 14 October 2022, thanks to his quick thinking.

Matt was driving in the area when he saw the incident unfolding and showed great initiative in grabbing a life jacket from the yacht club to help rescue the men.

With the help of the lifeguards, police and ambulance, Matt’s actions led to a safe rescue in a situation which could so easily have ended in tragedy.

Sport and Recreation nominee Indigo Harris is making a name for herself in the modern pentathlon and has competed and won gold at events internationally and in Australia.

Alongside her talents she has also been noticed for her generosity and encouragement to her fellow athletes and willingness to volunteer at events.

She is always proud to represent Australia and hopes to do so at the Junior Olympics and the 2028 and 2032 Olympics.

Nominee Brett Hodgekiss is the President of Coffs City United Football Club, a club that recently earned five stars in the National Club Development Program.

Brett spends countless hours bringing the football community together.

He has championed the development of female football in the region and worked for state and national bodies to further the game in Northern NSW.

Nominee Simon Portus has been instrumental in the redevelopment of Toormina Oval.

He is also credited with making Sawtell Football Club a leader in female football in Northern NSW.

The Club saw significant growth in female player numbers from 32 percent of total players in 2021 to 36 percent in 2022, beating the average across the North Coast Football region by four percent.

By Andrea FERRARI