RESPECTED volunteers were recognised at the City of Bayswater’s Australia Day WA Community Citizen of the Year Awards.
Weld Square Primary School P and C president Michelle Hughes won the Community Citizen of the Year award while Bayswater Senior Citizen’s Association president Polly Lawson took out the Senior Community Citizen of the Year on January 26.
Other winners were Youth Advisory Council member Galvin Phuong, of Morley, who won the Youth Citizen of the Year and the Bayswater Historical Society president Lynn Deering and vice-president Keith Clements who were awarded the Active Citizen of the Year.
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READ NOWMs Hughes, who volunteered at the school for 15 years, said the school was “community-driven” and felt like “home”.
“I will be stepping down at the next annual general meeting because my daughter finished school as she is in tertiary studies now,” she said.
“My plan is to help more in the broader community.”
Ms Lawson has been involved in the association for more than 25 years, where she established a friendship group to support and connect residents who are new to the area.
“I was a bit surprised but I feel as though it is a boost to the older people and to know that they to can be recognised,” she said.
Mr Phuong has been on the Youth Advisory Council since 2016 and has recently appointed as a youth representative on the City’s Community Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee.
“(Volunteering) is a lot of fun and you get to meet really great, interesting people,” he said.“If anything, it is just a great way to spend any free time you have.”
Ms Deering said the society had been operating for more than 26 years so it was a “team effort” to have been recognised.
“I think it shows the big age diversity that we have involved in the society,” she said.
“We have people coming through with new technology skills, people volunteering their marketing skills and gardening experience.
“It brings and connects people on both promoting heritage, preserving heritage and protecting heritage.”