At the Naracoorte Lucindale Council meeting held in December, Mayor Erika Vickery OAM announced the Australia Day Citizen of the Year award recipients.
“The Citizen of the Year awards reward and recognise individuals and organisations that have made a noteworthy contribution during 2019, and/or given outstanding service over a number of years, to a local community over and above normal employment duties,” Mayor Vickery said.
The Australia Day Citizen of the Year award recipients are:
- Naracoorte Citizen of the Year – Judy Stafford
- Lucindale Citizen of the Year – Leanne Graetz
- Lucindale Community Event of the Year – triple j One Night Stand – Lucindale Lions Club
- Naracoorte Community Event of the Year – International Women’s Day Breakfast – Soroptimist International Naracoorte
“There were many good nominations received and choosing the recipients was difficult. I’d like to congratulate Judy Stafford, Leanne Graetz, Lucindale Lions Club and Soroptimist International Naracoorte on their awards,” Mayor Vickery said.
Naracoorte Citizen of the Year Judy Stafford is a quiet achiever for the Naracoorte community who is an active and valued member of Rotary, the National Trust and Uniting Church. She has served as President of Rotary and Chairman, Secretary and Publicity Officer for the National Trust as well as the branch’s historian and archivist.
Lucindale Citizen of the Year Leanne Graetz has lived her whole life in Lucindale and been heavily involved in sporting and community groups, including netball, tennis, golf and LINC. She has held numerous roles within these groups over the years, has a passionate sense of community and never misses an opportunity to promote Lucindale.
Lucindale was one of the smallest towns to host the triple j One Night Stand in September, which attracted around 20,000 visitors and national media coverage. It was estimated the event brought in $15 million to the region. A campaign to bring the event to Lucindale began in 2013.
The Naracoorte Community Event of the Year is the International Women’s Day Breakfast hosted by Soroptimist International Naracoorte. The day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. Last year’s local breakfast was a sold-out event.
“The Citizen of the Year awards are determined as a result of nominations from the community. I’d like to thank everyone who completed nomination forms and encourage people to renominate next year. We know that there are many people who contribute. It was disappointing to have no nominations for the Naracoorte Young Citizen of the Year or the Lucindale Young Citizen of the Year and I hope this changes next year,” Mayor Vickery said.
The Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards are presented at Australia Day celebrations on 26 January 2020. Celebrations kick off at Naracoorte at 7.00am at the Naracoorte Town Square with breakfast supplied by local service clubs, entertainment starts from 7.35am. The official ceremony commences at 7.55am.
This is followed by celebrations and a community lunch, supplied by community groups, at Lucindale at 11.00am at Centenary Park, Musgrave Avenue.
The Australia Day address at both Naracoorte and Lucindale this year will be given by renowned research scientist Ms Monica Oliphant AO, who was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2015 for her services to renewable energy research. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of South Australia and was named Senior South Australian of the Year in 2016.