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The whole community is invited to attend the 2017 Australia Day Awards Ceremony.
The awards ceremony will be held on Australia Day Eve, Wednesday January 25.
Kempsey Shire Council will be hosting the Australia Day event at the Slim Dusty Centre, which is located at 490 Macleay Valley Way, South Kempsey from 5pm.
Come along to be part of the community celebration and to acknowledge the contributions made by those in our community.
The event will include a ‘Welcome to Country’ by Uncle Bob Smith, a citizenship ceremony and the announcement of the winners of this year’s Australia Day Awards in the following categories:
Citizen of the Year.
Young Citizen of the Year.
Community Group of the Year.
Volunteer of the Year.
The awards ceremony will also include a speech by the Australia Day Ambassador for Kempsey, mental health advocate, Nic Newling.
Nic Newling is an outspoken advocate for mental health, suicide prevention and sharing personal stories.
The motivational speaker and mental health advocate, will deliver a short speech before welcoming 12 new citizens to our Shire as part of a citizenship ceremony.
Having lived through the experience of suffering with a mood disorder throughout high school and losing his brother to suicide, he has since dedicated himself to changing the way mental illness is addressed in schools, workplaces and in communities.
Four local residents will then be announced as the recipients of the Australia Day awards.
“Everyone in our valley is welcome to join in the festivities as the community comes together to celebrate what is at the heart of being an Australian."
- Liz Campbell, Kempsey Shire Mayor
Kempsey Shire Mayor, Liz Campbell, said residents and visitors to the area are welcome to attend the Awards ceremony or any of the community celebrations.
On January 26, there will be free Australia Day breakfasts held in two ideal locations.
Choose between Crescent Head and South West Rocks.
The Crescent Head Lions Club and The South West Rocks Lions Club will be hosting these Australia day events.
At South West Rocks, a flag raising ceremony will start official proceedings at 7am and be followed by performances from Sing Australia, Kempsey Silver Band, and Les Jenkins Pipes and Drums, along with presentation of the Lions Citizen of the Year Awards.
Last year’s winners of the Australia Day Awards were: Mark Morrison, head of Macleay Vocational College, was named Kempsey Shire’s Citizen of the Year. Talented swimmer Mark Thurgood was awarded Young Citizen of the Year and The Group of the Year award went to the Dhangatti Language Group, made up of a small number of the local indigenous Dhungutti people dedicated to keeping their language alive.
Sponsored by:
South West Rocks Country Club: rockscountryclub.com.au
Crescent Head Country Club : chcclub.com.au
Kempsey Shire Council: kempsey.nsw.gov.au
Thompson Healthcare: thompsonhealthcare.com.au
