Cowra honours its

outstanding citizens

Bill Bundy, Breannah Jeffries,

Craig Johnston, Garry Starr

receive Australia Day awards

COWRA residents – Bill Bundy, Breannah Jeffries, Craig Johnston and Garry Starr – have been awarded the major Australia Day honours for 2010 at a ceremony held in the Cowra Civic Centre yesterday (Tuesday) morning.

Announcing the honors, Mayor of Cowra, Bill West, congratulated all of the nominees in the three sections on their significant contribution to the community over the past year and encouraged others to follow their example.

Right: Nominees for Citizen off the Year 2010 (l-r) Garry Starr, Barbara Newham, Winter Warden, Bill Bundy, Chris Cummins and Brooke Sargent.

Australia Day Ambassador, Gabrielle Clark, addressed the crowd before presenting the awards to each of the recipients. [CLICK HERE] for full list of Ms Clark’s outstanding achievements.

Bill Bundy received the Citizen Of The Year Award, Breannah Jeffries the Young Citizen of the Year Award, Craig Johnston received the Dr Warren Whiley Memorial Award and Garry Starr received a Community Service Medal.

[CLICK HERE] to read the full list of nominees and their achievements.

The awards and their recipients are:

2010 Cowra Citizen of the Year

– Bill Bundy

Mr Bundy says he is delighted to be announced Citizen of the Year for 2010. His contributions to the Cowra community are many and varied including Rotary, NRMA Careflight, and The Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal, just to name a few. Mr Bundy is presently involved in the Men’s Shed as secretary, helping to oversee renovations and promote the extensive work of the group.

Left: Citizen of the Year, Bill Bundy.

2010 Cowra Young Citizen of the Year – Breannah Jeffries

Recently announced as one of Cowra High School’s prefects for 2010, Ms Jeffries has been recognised for her maturity and community

spirit. She has spent many hours offering support to others as a sports coach, reading tutor, and participating successfully in leadership programs. Ms Jeffries achieves at every level and is an inspiration to other young people.

Right: Young Citizen of the Year, Briannah Jeffries.

2010 Dr Warren Whiley Memorial Award – Craig Johnston

Left: Winner of the Dr Warren Whiley Memorial Award, Craig Johnston.

Mr Johnston has involved himself fully in the Cowra community since arriving in 1998. He is a member of countless arts, cultural and community groups. His nomination is quoted as saying “every group needs a Craig”, a reference to his tireless work ethic. Mr Johnston is currently working on a visual account of Cowra, gathering and converting video evidence of Cowra’s past to DVD format. When complete, his chronicle of our community will be available through the Cowra Library.

2010 Cowra Community Service Medal – Garry Starr

Although nominated for the Citizen of the Year, the awards judging panel deemed the Community Service Medal to be a more appropriate recognition of Mr Starr’s efforts.

Right: Recipient of the Community Service Medal, Garry Starr, with Australia Day Ambassador, Gabrielle Clark.

He has a well-known list of contributions, including: Regional Access Committee chair, literacy and numeracy tutor at Weigelli and Lyndon House, a former councillor of Cowra Shire for nine years, and CLASA (Cowra Loss and Suicide Awareness Group) chair. Some of Mr Starr’s little-known involvements include President of Sailability Central West, a sailing group for the disabled; instigator of the Cowra Public School sports and fitness centre, training for games, skills and sports; and, instigator of triathlons at Cowra schools. Mr Starr has long been recognised as a community-minded person; this is a just reward, honouring his innumerable roles.