Moira Shire Council CEO Mathew Morgan, guest speaker Vivian Spilva OAM and Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club President Ron Kennett.
Yarrawonga’s Australia Day Awards Ceremony was well attended at Kennedy Park last Friday with awards presented to local citizens who have given back to their community in the past 12 months.
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Hosted by the Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club on behalf of Moira Shire Council, a large crowd listened to a stirring speech from guest speaker and 2021 Federation Council Citizen of the Year Vivian Spilva OAM, before the awards were presented.
Vivian briefly spoke about her background and Italian heritage and how she and her husband, Andrew’s parents, immigrated to the “peaceful” nation of Australia and proudly became Australian citizens soon after. She also spoke briefly about how she and Andrew shifted their legal practice to Yarrawonga some 30 years ago and then raised their family.
Since then, Vivian has been involved in many organisations where she has been able to use her skills to serve the community of Yarrawonga and Mulwala in various committee roles and positions.
Some of these include many executive positions with Across the Arts (Yarrawonga Mulwala Arts Council Inc), the establishment of Moira Shire Creative, board member of Yarrawonga Mulwala Community & Learning (Yarrawonga Neighborhood House), inaugural chair of Yarrawonga Health’s Helping Hands, founding coordinator of Festival of 1000 Voices, inaugural member of Federation Council - Ageing Well Advisory Committee Member and Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort Director 2021 – 2023.
For services to the community, Vivian was also awarded the Federation Council Citizen of the Year in 2021 and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2021.
Vivian said in her Australia Day address that the sense of community here in Yarrawonga is very strong.
“Living here has given me and my husband a great opportunity to work, volunteer, and contribute to many community organisations over the years,” Vivian said.
“I have made many friends and valued the opportunity to make a difference.
“I’m often asked why I volunteer, and my answer is simply, why not?
“My personal experience is that giving time and expertise to a community committee or organisation adds value to your own life.”
Yarrawonga Citizen of the Year
2024 Yarrawonga Citizen of the Year John Wright.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
John Wright was awarded the 2024 Yarrawonga Citizen of the Year.
For years, John Wright has held positions on several community organisations in Yarrawonga, Wilby and surrounds, becoming the 2024 recipient of the Yarrawonga Citizen of the Year.
John has spent his entire life in this region, heavily involved in a range of community groups such as Yarrawonga/Mulwala Table Tennis, Yarrawonga and Border Agricultural Show, Wilby and District Tennis, and the Lake Rowan Progress Association.
John spends a lot of time promoting the region while he attends the Table Tennis Nationals Veterans tournament, which is held around Australia once a year. John is always willing to lend a hand to those in need and is committed to bringing a sense of family to the local sports tournaments and when arranging entertainment for the Yarrawonga show.
Other positions John has held in local organisations include:
President of North East Vas Group, Junior co-ordinator of Wangaratta Table Tennis and committee member of Victorian Country Championships Table Tennis.
In accepting his award John said he was very honoured but was sad that his parents could not be at the ceremony due to ill health.
“I am always trying to help the young ones because they are a big part of our community, and it’s important to get them active.
“With table tennis and the show, it’s important we try and make it fun for the whole community to enjoy and keep it going,” John said.
John was the sole nomination for the Citizen of the Year.
Young Citizen of the Year
Last year, there were no nominees for the Young Citizen of the Year; however, 2024 has produced a worthy recipient.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
Zoe Schweda is an active member of the community, serving those in need and volunteering for several organizations.
Zoe acts as an inspiration and role model to her peers by regularly supporting her school, tennis and kayak club in community and fundraising events.
She also volunteers for Park Run, St. Cuthbert’s, Many Mobs and the SES.
As a 10-year-old, Zoe put up her hand to volunteer at school, church, and the local canoe club – supporting “Come n Try” nights and kids with disabilities, later earning nominations for leadership roles.
From a young age, Zoe identified those in need, chatting with older people, making cups of tea, helping by cleaning windows, mowing lawns and cleaning up in the homes.
Some of Zoe’s other achievements include:
2022 Vic Paddle Australia Day Award under-18 marathon, 2021/2022 Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis - Sportsman award, 2019 and 2022 - most successful exhibitor at Yarrawonga Show.
For 2024, Zoe has been chosen as part of the Year 12 Yarrawonga College P-12 leadership team. Her year teacher commented; “Zoe is a worthy recipient of a place on the team as she has regularly demonstrated our college values in and outside the classroom and is consistently hard working with a great work ethic and has strong working relationships with all staff and students.”
Community Organisation of the Year
For 2024, there was only one Community Organisation of the Year nominee, albeit a worthy winner, the Yarrawonga Football Netball Club.
Yarrawonga Football Netball Club President Ross Mulquiney accepted the award on behalf of the club for Community Organisation of the Year Award.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
The Yarrawonga Football Netball Club (YFNC) provides a community hub for the participant, volunteer and spectator.
Starting on a Friday night, over 300 boys and girls represent the YFNC in Auskick/ Little League, Net Set Go and junior netball. These local-based competitions are run at very low cost and aim at maximum participation.
On Saturday, the O&M rolls into town and, as a participant in the best country football netball league in Australia, the Pigeons have played in the last two Grand Finals in the football (winning 2023) while the netballers won in 2022 and finished on top of the ladder in 2023.
On Sunday, three AWJFL teams compete in under 12, under 14 and under 16 levels in the junior footy.
The YFNC was announced as the number one club by the Herald-Sun in 2023.
The club is a driver of the local economy as well as being a participation hub. The sport creates major tourism events, and the revenue generated provides elite facilities for junior sport in the region.
Older members of the club form a backbone of role models for the junior sport delivery, and by creating a strong, disciplined culture, they generate a strong culture of good young sportswomen and sportsmen who contribute to the community.
YFNC President Ross Mulquiney accepted the certificate on the club’s behalf and thanked the community for supporting the club not only commercially but also for coming down to enjoy the sport and be part of the club.
“It’s honour to accept this award on behalf of the club,” Ross said,
“It’s a really big organisation and really difficult to run and fundamentally reliable upon the work of many volunteers.”
Community Event of the Year
The Rotary Club of Yarrawonga Mulwala’s Lift the Lid Walk for Mental Health was the recipient of the Community Event of the Year.
Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club President Ron Kennett with the Community Event of the Year Award.
The Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club came together with the local community on Sunday, February 23, last year, to host their inaugural Lift the Lid Walk for Mental Health. The walk far exceeded expectations, with over 200 walkers taking part in perfect weather conditions.
The Lift, the Lid Walk, was the first for regional Victoria, which was an honour for the Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club and the Yarrawonga district. The Chairman of Australia Rotary Health flew over from Tasmania to do the walk, acting as the walk ambassador and ensuring the event had exposure on a national level.
The walk is an opportunity to get locals and community organisations together to raise awareness of the serious mental health issues we face in all areas of our communities, schools, homes and workplaces. The walk-and-talk format was deliberately not a race but a chance to bring people together in our local community to talk about mental health and help break down the stigma of mental health.
Several sporting and service clubs in the town supported the walk by purchasing “walk spots” for the day, with many sending employees to join in as part of their mental health/wellbeing workplace programs.
This event resulted in $10,000.00 being raised to support mental health research and programs. Participants strongly advocated for this to become an annual event in Yarrawonga’s calendar of events.
Yarrawonga Mulwala Rotary Club President Ron Kennett said the club was very proud to be the host of the first Lift the Lid Walk in regional Victoria.
“We were thrilled by the community response to the walk last year,” Ron said.
“Following on from that success, this year’s walk is planned for Sunday, February 25, beginning at 10am.
“I encourage you all to come down to the walk.”
Nominations for the community event of the year were also received for – the Park Run and Yarrawonga Twilight Market.
