CITIZENSHIP AWARDS
Volunteers celebrated at Citizenship Awards Nineteen local recipients were recognised at this year’s Citizenship Awards ceremony for their outstanding contribution to the Lane Cove community. The awards ceremony, which coincided with National Volunteer Week, was opened by Mayor of Lane Cove, Clr Pam Palmer. “With such busy lives it can be difficult to find time to give to family, to friends, let alone to the wider community,” said Mayor Palmer. “Thankfully in Lane Cove we have a strong history of supporting each other and relying on strong connections in our community. It is through these strong connections that we find ourselves sharing nights like this with familiar faces, whilst also welcoming new faces as we come together to share in the spirit of community”.
Husband and wife team Amanda Harrison and Frank Hamersley were named as the 2018 Citizens of the Year.
Husband and wife team Amanda Harrison and Frank Hamersley were named as the 2018 Citizens of the Year. Amanda and Frank both go above and beyond to form the backbone of so many worthwhile community activities. Amanda is an accomplished artist in her own right, and has been coordinating the Greenwich Village Arts Trail for the last six years. This 8 I THE VILLAGE OBSERVER I NO. 274 I JUNE 2018
open studio event held in November each year is an opportunity to showcase local artists and in 2017, a record 26 artists were involved. Frank has been the head of the Greenwich Sporting Club since 2015. In addition to his role as team captain, he is also a fully-qualified referee. Frank is always at games early, setting up and running the line as well as organising the match card at games each week. Amanda and Frank are also stalwarts of the Lane Cove Swim Club, having been members for around 25 years. Frank manages the Saturday morning races point score and his IT knowledge has helped the Club roll out new online registration systems and software to support swim meets and club competition. Amanda has been made a life member of the Club, and provides invaluable support to the competition program, Saturday morning races and learn-to-swim. She has been on the committee for over 10 years and, as the Saturday morning race secretary, oversees race registrations and the annual race calendar. Frank is also dedicated to his involvement in the local Scouting movement. Several Community Service Awards were presented on the night. Recipients included Maureene and Keith Smith who organise the twiceyearly Huge Plant Sale at their home in Lane Cove North, and have raised over $73,000 for breast cancer research over the past eight years. Keen gardeners, Keith and Maureene have lived in Lane Cove for over 30 years. Their commitment has resulted in the donation of the time required for collecting, propagating, replanting, nurturing and organising these plant sales. A Northwood resident since 1961, Mary Rossi OBE was also awarded a Community Service Award for her valuable contribution to the North Shore Women’s Benevolent Association, a not-
for-profit organisation established to support women and children escaping domestic violence. The group recently opened a hostel called Mary’s House, and in recognition of the significant financial support Mary provided, there is now a dedicated space inside the hostel called the ‘Rossi Room’. Mary raised her 10 children locally and has a long history of community involvement, including chairing the St Margaret Hospital Board. Another Community Service Award recipient was Max Thorpe. A Longueville resident for the past 50 years, Max has made a significant contribution towards increasing the wellbeing of older residents and their carers. Following his retirement as a physician, Max started volunteering with Sydney Community Services. In early 2017, Max embarked on many months of visiting Lane Cove GPs and health professionals, working with his contacts in the health sector to see how future partnership models between health and community services could benefit local residents. Max is also a member of Lane Cove Council’s Age Friendly Committee. Leadership Awards were presented to Natalie Panzarino and Karyn Gojnich. Natalie Panzarino leads the way on a range of community advocacy initiatives. She campaigns for the welfare and re-homing of retired greyhounds and co-wrote a book called Pointy Pembleton to help to raise funds for Greyhound Rescue. Natalie has also led the way with the Got A Pen initiative, aimed at providing stationery to school students who lack the basics they need to actively participate in class and has so far put together and distributed more than 1,200 kits to kids in Sydney. Karyn Gojnich has been a life member of the Lane Cove 12foot Sailing Skiff Club since 1970. Karen’s Leadership Award recognised her invaluable contribution to the Club through providing coaching, advice and mentoring to other parents as well as practical support to Club coaches. Karyn has had an active role in the running of the Club’s Learn to Race and Learn to Sail programs, and is currently the Training Coordinator and Membership Treasurer. The Young Achiever Award recognises a local resident, aged 12 to 25, for achievement in any facet of life. This year’s recipient was 23-year old Arran Weir.
