Mandurah heroes recognised at Community Citizen of the Year awards

Local individuals and groups who made an outstanding positive contribution to the Mandurah community have been recognised during the Australia Day ceremony.

Mayor Rhys Williams said the local champions were recognised for the 2021 Community Citizen of the Year Awards, which celebrate significant contributions to community life in all local government areas of Western Australia. 

"Our winners this year have played outstanding roles within our community, and after the challenging year we're all had, their input definitely deserves to be highlighted," he said.

"Many people in our community have stepped up to the plate to give a helping hand over the past year, and I'm immensely proud of how our people have come together to show compassion and support towards others.

"Mandurah is such a special place, made greater by our incredible people. Most of the time, these local champions go about their business quietly, but Australia Day is a fantastic day to celebrate their important role in our community. 

"Congratulations to this year's winners for all you do."

The 2021 Community Citizen of the Year winners are:

Community Citizen of the Year – Virginia Pitts

For more than 12 years, Virginia has been an advocate and volunteer contributing to Mandurah and the Peel region. She has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of migrants who call Mandurah home.

Virginia is President of Peel Multicultural Association and is passionate about helping people live a good life, using her own personal experiences as a migrant to provide empathy in her work. She is also a member of the Mandurah Multicultural Networking Group and has been advocating for more assistance for the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community, raising concerns and issues while finding reasons to celebrate and bring people together.

During the pandemic, Virginia ensured the multicultural community were connected and had access to emergency relief, delivering food, hampers and highlighting issues facing a range of VISA holders who were experiencing difficulties.

Community Citizen of the Year (Youth) – Liam Gould

Liam has been actively involved with the Mandurah Surf Life Saving Club for the past five years, completing more than 600 hours of life saving patrol services on local beaches.

He is also a trainer and coach at the club, having guided more than 20 new members to become life savers. As part of the club’s surf sports
team, Liam has been both a competitor and coach, and has his Surf Rescue Certificate and Bronze Medallion. He has been described as a mentor and leader within the club.

Liam was recently promoted to Patrol Captain (youngest in the club’s history), and has managed a number of incidents (including a marine search and rescue), activities and events at Mandurah beaches with utmost professionalism. Among his many accolades, he’s been awarded Club Youth Lifesaver of the Year for 2015/16 and 2018/19, Club Senior Lifesaver of the Year for 2019/20, and was recently appointed to the SLSWA Lifesaving Advisory Committee.

Community Citizen of the Year (Senior) – Sheila Twine

Sheila has been described as an outstanding citizen who contributes to the community in many ways. She is actively involved in several community organisations including:

• University of the Third Age (U3A) – Sheila was previously President and achieved much success for the club including securing grant funds, growing member numbers and securing a much-needed home at Mandurah Seniors and Community Centre
• Halls Head Croquet Club – current President where she has secured several funding allocations from Federal to Local Government sources, achieving extensive membership growth, and increased exposure for the sport across the region and state
• Pets of Older Persons (POOPS)
• The West Australian Croquet Association – board member
• Zonta Club of Peel
• Local Friends Mandurah – Sheila has recently started this new organisation which will see community volunteers assigned to local seniors facing social isolation who need friendship, connection and a chat from a friendly local community member. In just six months, Sheila has brought together a cross-sector steering group to support the development of the group, including local government staff, the Peel Volunteer Resource Centre, local service providers, community organisations and local GPs.

At 84 years of age, Sheila is still well and truly devoted to her community and people in need, and she’s been described as always thinking of others. Sheila was recently awarded the WA Senior Award 2020 Regional at last year’s WA Seniors Awards.

Active Citizenship Award (for group or event) – joint winners Peel Connect M.A.C.S Group and Play 2 Talk 

Peel Connect M.A.C.S Group 

Established in 2019, this community group is staffed by passionate volunteers providing free counselling services to those limited by costs and long wait times. The group also provides mentoring, advocacy and support for those experiencing homelessness and disadvantage in the Peel region.

Led by a professional counsellor and trainer, MACS counsellors are qualified members of the Australian Counselling Association, and all volunteers undergo extensive training to ensure the best approach to their work.

This service provides an opportunity for qualified counsellors to gain experience in their field, in the hope of eventually securing paid employment as counsellors.

Volunteer counsellors provide valuable support to clients who would otherwise be unable to source the support needed. The team of mentors establish connections with their clients in order to build a trusting relationship that fosters positive changes in lifestyle.

Play 2 Talk

Play 2 Talk was created in 2018 by Nicole Radcliffe and Amber Gilkes, who both have children with disability, to support families and siblings of children who have social and communication deficits.

The ladies recognised the need for social support for their children, and created Play 2 Talk’s mission to help children of all ages learn valuable conversational and social skills during play. Their Facebook support page has more than 330 members and allows carers and families to connect in a safe environment.

Amber and Nicole have a passion to connect the community of families with children with disability by supporting families to participate in social and recreational activities.

Monthly catch-ups are held for children and families to connect while they play, often at parks, beaches or the foreshore. Through the City’s community inclusion grant in 2019, Play 2 Talk organised a number of inclusive activities in the Peel region.