THE selflessness, compassion and positivity of the community was on display during the Mitchell Shire Council Australia Day awards ceremony in Seymour today.
The annual ceremony recognises the outstanding efforts of community leaders in several categories, including Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Community Event of the Year, Community Group of the Year and and Access and Inclusion Champion Award.
Ambulance Victoria paramedic Brian Moffat was named Citizen of the Year for going beyond the call of duty and saving the lives of multiple people while off duty.
Mr Moffat responded to an alert on Ambulance Victoria’s GoodSAM app after a man collapsed in Pyalong and went into cardiac arrest.
Mr Moffat instructed bystanders to use his phone in order to alert CFA members that he needed assistance and a defibrillator while he attended to the man.
He then used the defibrillator to restart the man’s heart after it stopped, saving his life.
Following the incident Mr Moffat initiated a fundraising campaign to purchase and install another defibrillator in Pyalong that could be easily accessed by the public.
He also organises community information sessions to demonstrate CPR and the use of a defibrillator to the public.
Young Citizen of the Year was Hidden Valley teenager Ethan Liddy, who rides the length of his street each week to put out bins for several neighbours, collecting money in exchange, which he donates to the Buy a Bale campaign supporting rural farmers.
Ethan was inspired to raise money for farmers after a Hay Mate fundraising concert in 2018, and his parents agreed to match every $100 he raised.
Community Group of the Year went to Seymour Football Netball Club for its outstanding community leadership during October’s flood.
Club members quickly mobilised in the hours after the waters rose to lend their tools, machinery, time, experience and labour at no cost, helping remove sodden carpets, fittings, furniture, whitegoods, food, clothing and plaster from inundated buildings.
Members also knocked on people’s doors to conduct welfare checks and offer assistance as needed.
Broadford Secondary College’s 60-year reunion was named Community Event of the Year after bringing together many past staff and students of the college.
Detailed displays of the school’s history including sports memorabilia, class photos and academic achievements gave visitors the opportunity to explore the college’s past and relive their part in it.
Guest speakers included former teacher Jennifer Gardner and ABC radio presenter Warwick Long, a former student at the school.
Mitchell Suicide Prevention Network picked up the Access and Inclusion Champion Award for its unique approach to raising awareness and funds with a book.
Chair Nikki Simos and the late Roger Fletcher included personal stories from 12 Mitchell Shire writers in the book ‘Helping Me to Help You’.
The authors described their lived experience with mental health and offered advice for readers on issues such as domestic violence, anorexia, LGBTIQ+ identity matters, multiculturalism and isolation.
The book is available at the Kilmore Bookstore and the proceeds from sales go directly to Mitchell Suicide Prevention Network.
Also recognised today was the late David Turnbull, a former chief executive of both Mitchell Shire Council and the City of Whittlesea.
Mr Turnbull was awarded a posthumous Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to local government administration, which included stints as chief executive at the City of Whittlesea from 2007 to 2015 and Mitchell Shire Council from 2016 to 2020, as well as various roles at Bulla Shire Council from 1983 to 1995, roles with local government organisations and as a member of the Northern Metropolitan Partnership and the Hume Regional Partnership.
Mr Turnbull received the Paul Jerome Award for Outstanding Public Service from the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association in 2006, and had a memorial prize named in his honour by RMIT University.
He died in March 2020 following a battle with cancer.
