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Who won this year’s North Sydney Community Awards – North Sydney Sun

Who won this year’s North Sydney Community Awards

The annual North Sydney Community Awards have been announced today at a special ceremony at Council chambers. There were four categories: Community Builder, Eco Warrior, Next Generation and Living Legend.

Janice Hui and Linda Bisnette were the joint winners of the Community Builder Award. They were recognised for their work in helping skilled migrants gain employment through a workshop and one-on-one coaching services at Crows Nest Centre. More than 70 per cent of participants have found jobs linked to their professional field of expertise as a result. Linda is also President of the Zonta Club of North Sydney.

Honourable Mentions went to Matt Dawson, John Hancox and Audrey Tonkin.

The Eco Warrior Award went to both Anne Pickles and Ruth Mitchell for their work with Wildlife Watch – an initiative where volunteers record wildlife observations. Anne has added almost 2,000 entries into Council’s BioCollect database. Meanwhile, Ruth has entered more than 300 historic wildlife records into the database.

For the Next Generation Award, there were four winners. First, Patrick Boland who has been helping rehabilitate local bushland through the North Sydney Bushcare Program since 2019. He has logged 43 hours of voluntary service, mostly spent controlling exotic weeds at Forsyth Park, Smoothey Park, Tunks East and Harry Howard Reserves.

Loreto Kirribilli students Imogen Wills, Lauren Moloney and Olivia Menzies were also announced as winners for this award. The trio have been instrumental in establishing Loreto as a sustainable school by formally setting up an Environmental Sustainability Framework. Before graduating Year 12 in 2022, they initiated programs such as Earn and Return, a ‘War on Waste’ clean-up day and Plastic Free Canteen.

Finally, there were 29 joint winners for the Living Legend Award – all of whom are volunteers with the North Sydney Bushcare Program. Each have contributed 20 or more years of service. Bushcare celebrates its 30th anniversary in April.
Donald Melrose (30yrs)
George Barbouttis (30yrs)
Heather Robson (30yrs)
Mary Lyn Lawrence (30yrs)
Nicole Bannister (30yrs)
Andy Craig
Anita Semler
Ann Lyons
Bud Coffey
Dick Gall
Eddie Tsui
Frennie Beytagh
Hilary Walker
Ian Clarke
Jan Thomas
John Brewer
Joyce Meyer
Kim Shepherd
Lynne Cook
Margaret O’Brien
Margaret Ryan
Mart Vesk
Michael Young
Nancy Heywood
Penelope Blau
Penelope Erikson
Rosslyn Young
Sissi Stewart
Victoria Whitney

Mayor Zoe Baker said: “It is incredibly important to recognise what local citizens and groups are doing within our community to make it a better place for all. The North Sydney Community Awards acknowledges their outstanding contributions and serves as an inspiration to others. Thank you to all of this year’s nominees, and congratulations to the winners.”

The Council said it has rebooted the North Sydney Community Awards, making it independent from its previous Australia Day date and overhauling the list of categories. The judging panel consists of North Sydney Council’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor, as well as the Community Awards Committee.