Jennie Scott is Colac Otway’s 2020 Australia Day Citizen of the Year
Published on 26 January 2020
Jennie Scott is Colac Otway’s 2020 Australia Day Citizen of the Year
Inspiring local figure, Jennie Scott is Colac Otway Shire Council’s 2020 Citizen of the Year.
Ms Scott has served the Colac Otway community for 50 years having given her time and skills to a diverse range of local committees, parish councils, local schools, sporting events and in providing support to local social organisations.
Ms Scott was one of five award recipients who received Australia Day honours at the ceremony at Beeac. The other recipients were Tyison Williamson and Mitchell Hall, joint winners of the Young Citizen of the Year Award, Beeac Red Cross for the Community Service of the Year Award and John Hutchinson, Sporting Service of the Year Award.
Mayor Jason Schram congratulated all who had received Australia Day honours, thanking them for their dedication to the community and welcomed those who became Australian citizens on Australia Day.
“Australia Day is a day for us to reflect on our heritage and the vibrant multicultural community we share.
“It’s also a day when we focus on our Colac Otway citizens, to show our gratitude and acknowledge them for the positive contributions they’ve made.
“We’ve seen some great examples of the Australian spirit recently, with people coming together to support each other and help each other out in times of need.
“As a community, on Australia Day, we’re given the opportunity celebrate that spirit by showing our gratitude to those who work tirelessly for our community, volunteering their time and skills through Colac Otway to make ours a great shire in which to live.
“We were also able to acknowledge and pay thanks to local Doctor, Michael Connor who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to medicine, and to the community.
“It was an auspicious coincidence that this year is the 50th anniversary of Dr Connor commencing his medical practice in Beeac, which made holding the Australia Day event in Beeac all the more special.”
Cr Schram paid tribute to the Beeac community for their role and involvement toward an enjoyable Australia Day event in 2020.
“It was a great pleasure to work with the Beeac community in putting together this year’s event, our events team very much appreciate the support and input from groups such as the Beeac Progress Association, Beeac Community Reserve, Beeac CFA and the Beeac Primary School,” Cr Schram said.
This year’s Australia Day event at Beeac featured an address by Member of the Order of Australia (AM) Steve Moneghetti, one of Australia’s best-ever distance runners who represented Australia in four Olympic Games, four Commonwealth Games and six World Championships.
Citizen of the Year Award – Jennie Scott
An active member of the local community, Jennie Scott has contributed 50 years of community service to Colac Otway Shire.
Jennie has given her time and skills to a diverse range of local committees, parish councils, local schools, sporting events and in providing support to local social organisations, among the extensive list of contributions is her involvement with Colac Do Care.
Jennie joined Do Care as a volunteer visitor before becoming a committee of management member in 1996 and President of the Board of Management from 1997 to 2005. While Jennie was President, Colac Do Care was awarded the National Health and Medical Research Council Volunteer Award in recognition of Outstanding Community Service.
Jennie’s commitment to Do Care was acknowledged by the Victorian Government with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of voluntary service to the community in 2001 and a Life Membership to Do Care in 2004.
Jennie was also involved in the evolution of Colac Do Care to South West Do Care – to include the wider Colac Otway area and Apollo Bay’s Aged Care Facility.
Jennie remains involved with South West Do Care since it merged with Miller House under Colac Area Health, contributing as a sponsor for the newsletter, honour board and badges.
A member of the Colac Evening VIEW Club (VIEW stands for Voice Interests Education of Women and is an arm of the Smith Family – raising funds for the education of disadvantaged Australian children), Jennie has held various positions on the committee since joining in 2003.
Jennie has been a member of Colac Central Probus since 2009, holding positions of Safety Officer, Vice President, President over the years.
As an important and upstanding member of our Colac Otway community, Jennie is a well-regarded mentor to others, offering invaluable support to newly elected committee executives and committee members.
Nominated for the award by Margaret Evans, Ms Evans said Jennie approaches her roles with professionalism and pride, garnering the respect of fellow club and committee members, contemporaries and the wider community.
Young Citizen of the Year – joint winners, Tyison Williamson and Mitchell Hall
Tyison Williamson
Tyison Williamson received the Award of Young Citizen of the Year in recognition of his resilience and drive in overcoming fears and obstacles he’s faced.
Tyison is described by those who nominated him for the Australia Day Award as being adept at managing obstacles many adults would find challenging and managing his own health and well-being.
Not to let adversity stand in the way of his education, Tyison attended secondary school daily, has held down a job, participated in sports events in the community, maintained a close, supportive friendship group and engaged with support services available to him.
In difficulties Tyison has faced he has demonstrated resilience and overcome any frustrations through his positive outlook, support from his social group and service providers.
As a young person, Tyison displays maturity beyond his teenage years, working to maintain his positive outlook and working toward achieving his goals.
Last year, he completed Year 12 at Colac Secondary College – having been elected to the joint-role of Year Level Leader by his fellow classmates.
The role of Student Leader is an important one within the CSC school community, contributing to the work of implementing programs, influencing school policy and ensuring the overall school community is always improving.
Tyison’s career aspirations are to become a social worker, using his experience and knowledge to help others who may be going through difficulties similar to those he has dealt with himself.
Mitchell Hall
Mitchell Hall was nominated for the Young Citizen of the Year Award by his ‘buddy’ a Year 2 student with special needs who was paired with Mitchell in Prep to help his transition from kindergarten to school.
Three years on, the two boys are still great mates with Mitchell providing grounding, support and friendship, to help his young buddy thrive.
In the nomination, Mitchell’s buddy described instances where Mitchell took time from his own schooling or sports commitments to provide friendship and support to his friend in times of need – giving his buddy a confidence boost to perform in a dance concert.
Mitchell’s commitment to his buddy as a support and mate has created an important bond between the two boys which sees them both flourish – bringing much joy and happiness to their friends and family – knowing they each have a great mate to lean on in times of need.
Community Service Award – Beeac Red Cross
As an organisation, the Beeac Red Cross was established in 1915 and has served our Colac Otway community for over 100 years, one of the earliest units of the Australian Red Cross.
After many years of service to the district, the Beeac Red Cross closed in July 2019 due to a decline in membership but Colac Otway Shire has recognised its century-long contribution to the community.
Immediately after the Beeac Red Cross was formed in 1915, their focus went to supporting the war effort of World War I with many local men enlisting and sent overseas.
During their first 9 months of operation, the unit sourced local materials and ingredients to sew articles of clothing and provide food supplies - sending 427 parcels to Australian Red Cross headquarters for distribution. A magnificent effort by our small regional community.
The organisation continued to support the war effort for the duration of World War I, and for many years thereafter, with Christmas parcels sent to inpatients at the Repatriation hospital in Melbourne for another 22 years.
During the war effort, contributions and support of the Beeac Red Cross did not go unrecognised and the unit was presented with a wooden plaque sculpture by John Blogg in 1921. This sculpture is now on display at the Colac History Centre located in COPACC.
From their beginnings in 1915 to their conclusion in 2019, some members served their community through the Beeac Red Cross for an extraordinary 70 years.
Of course, there were numerous instances where the Beeac Red Cross provided financial and emotional support on a more local level to the Beeac and wider Colac Otway community.
Where would we be without the tireless efforts of Red Cross volunteers providing food and refreshments to those on the frontline during times of disaster?
During the devastating fires which occurred through the local district in in 1977 and 1983, firefighters were kept going thanks to the Beeac Red Cross providing food and refreshments.
When disasters or hardship hit our local communities, in the aftermath, the Beeac Red Cross paid personal visits to those affected, to offer emotional support, someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on.
Providing this care is not for the faint-hearted and is an example of the courage, resilience and compassion shown by Beeac Red Cross volunteers – again ordinary people doing extraordinary work in their community to ensure no-one is left un-supported.
As a community we are extremely grateful to all Beeac Red Cross members for their valuable contributions to our Colac Otway community during the past 100 years and we pay homage to all members with this award for Community Service.
Sandra Sheedy accepted the Australia Day award on behalf of the Beeac Red Cross.
Sporting Service Award – John Hutchinson
John Hutchinson has been actively involved in helping the local sporting community for over 50 years.
During that time, John has freely given in time, participating in sport and coaching and providing leadership for many clubs.
Michael Melville, who nominated John for this award, said John is interested in promoting sport as a means of empowering people to participate and reach their full potential.
This is evident in John’s work to support young people’s participation in sport. He was President of the Birregurra State School Committee for 10 years, working with the school community to promote involvement in sport for all children.
His dedication to the youth of Colac Otway Shire is evident form these years of working with the Birregurra State School, through to coaching both junior football and cricket.
This support flows through to the present day with John as an active member of the Colac Sportsmen’s Club – he’s been a member of the Club for 25 years, and a committee member for the past two years.
The Sportsmen’s Club aims to encourage all people through the district to participate in sports, supporting this through their monthly awards and in the financial support provided to the many junior sportspeople through the Colac Otway Shire.
John is an active member of the sporting clubs he belongs to and isn’t afraid to step up and take on leadership roles as well as coaching.
Some of the many local clubs which have benefitted from John’s hard work, leadership and enthusiasm are: the Colac Sportsmen’s Club, the Colac and District Cricket Association, the Birregurra Football Club, the Birregurra State School, the Birregurra Recreation Reserve and the Birregurra Cricket Club.
Importantly, John’s work with the Birregurra Cricket Club saw him awarded the honour of Life Membership. You can even see John out, cutting the grass on the Birre oval during footy and cricket season.
John’s support extends from coaching and leadership roles, to also working to raise funds for all the organisations he has been involved with – work that has helped these clubs improve their facilities, which in turn helps retain members, generate new ones and ensure local clubs prosper.
It’s people in our community, like John, who are prepared to participate, show leadership and step in to volunteer their time across various sporting clubs and in John’s case, several clubs and organisations that are the lifeblood of our local sporting community.