John Blane is Colac Otway’s 2017 Australia Day Citizen of the Year
January 26, 2017
Colac businessman and Rotary stalwart John Blane is Colac Otway Shire’s 2017 Citizen of the Year.
The other recipients were Johanna Noseda, Young Citizen of the Year; Frances Simm, Community Service Award; Merrill O’Donnell, Arts Service Award; and Barry Cameron, Sports Service Award.
Mr Blane has served the community through Rotary for almost 50 years and is also a respected and active member of the St Mary’s Colac parish.
Mr Blane was one of five people who received Australia Day honours at a ceremony at Apollo Bay.
Mayor Chris Potter congratulated the people who received Australia Day honours and thanked them for their dedication to the community.
“Australia Day is an opportunity to consider what it means to be an Australian, to reflect on the foundations on which our country is built, and to show our gratitude to the people who work tirelessly to ensure we as a nation have a positive future,” he said.
“As a community, Australia Day gives us an opportunity to tell the stories of people who have made their mark on the Colac Otway Shire, and acknowledge them for the positive contributions they’ve made.”
This year’s Australia Day celebrations at Apollo Bay featured an address by Order of Australia Medal recipient and former Brauer College Warrnambool Principal Duncan Stalker.
Council collaborated with the Apollo Bay community to stage a day of celebration and music on the town’s foreshore to follow the official Australia Day proceedings.
Activities included a performance by The Chantoozies sponsored by COPACC and free children’s activities, followed by ‘A Day in the Bay’ featuring performances by Alley Cat, The Refuge, Palace of the King, and The Rank Outsiders.
Cr Potter paid tribute to the Apollo Bay community and the town’s Chamber of Commerce for the significant contribution they had made towards making Australia Day 2017 a success.
“Each year Council’s events team works with the host community to put on an Australia Day celebration unique to their area,” Cr Potter said.
“Apollo Bay’s contribution, focussed around a diverse offering of music, made for a fantastic afternoon for people of all ages.”
BIOGRAPHIES OF AWARD WINNERS
Citizen of the Year Award – John Blane
John Blane has been described as a man of integrity, generosity and sensitivity.
Father Michael O’Toole of St Mary’s Parish Colac said that when John saw a need, he did something about it.
“John has an awareness and a genuine respect for people and their circumstances,” Fr O’Toole said.
“Whether it be an elderly person that needs help to travel, or someone who’s feeling alone and needs some company or friendship, John is there to support them.”
John has been a member of the Rotary Club of Colac West since 1971 and has taken on most of the club’s leadership roles, including president in 1984-85. He was recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow in 2004.
He has donated the club’s weekly raffle prize since 1984 which raises about $2000 a year.
At the club he lends a hand with everything from cooking burgers to selling raffle tickets. He also supports local authors by providing a point of sale in his newsagency.
People who endorsed John’s nomination for the award said he did good work for the Colac community in an unobtrusive way.
According to one of his nominators: “Every Colac West Rotary Club project had input from John. His contribution ranges from volunteer labour in fundraising endeavours to strategic advice on community projects”.
John has mentored many new Rotarians and had the pleasure to see them develop as club members.
As a businessman John has given many young people their first experience in retail. Grounded in the basics of small business operation and sales, many of these young people have gone onto diverse careers including work overseas.
Fr O’Toole said John could be very proud of the opportunities he had given young people in Colac.
“He has given many young people a start in their careers which helped them develop skills and confidence.
“It’s amazing how often his former employees talk about the respect they had for working at Blanes – they never forget it.”
Young Citizen of the Year – Johanna Noseda
Johanna Noseda completed Year 12 in 2016 at Apollo Bay P-12 College and is an active member of the Apollo Bay community. Her list of awards is a testament to her contribution to her school and the wider community.
The impressive list includes Apollo Bay P-12 College Captain and Student Representative Council member; Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club patrol member and first aid volunteer; Rural Youth Ambassador; netball player, coach and junior netball Net Set Go coach and helper; Great Ocean Road Marathon volunteer; and Australian Defence Force Long Tan Youth leadership and team award recipient.
Apollo Bay P-12 College Principal Tiffany Holt nominated Johanna for the award and said she was an active participant in school and extra-curricular activities.
“Johanna has been a committed member of the SRC, representing student voices and working with staff and the School Council to improve the conditions of our school for all,” Tiffany said.
“In addition to her SRC involvement and College Captain role, she was also a sport captain and helped out with after school activities including the school’s cadet program.”
As a member of the surf lifesaving club, Johanna shares a committee role as the first aid officer and spends her summer on beach patrol as part of a team ensuring the safety of visitors and locals.
She’s an active member of the Apollo Bay Football Netball Club as a player and umpire and assists with coaching the under 15s netball. She has received two junior club person awards and two club person awards.
After Year 12, Johanna joined into the college’s international trip to India and the Maldives. Having developed an appetite for adventure, she plans to do more travel before going to university.
Community Service of the Year - Frances Simm
Frances Simm has demonstrated excellence in her field including leadership, innovation and creativity; and is considered by her community as an inspirational role model.
This is how Otway Health Board Chair Denise McLachlan described 92-year-old Frances when she nominated her for an Australia Day award.
Frances moved to Apollo Bay in 1947 and since then has been a teacher, a mother and committed community volunteer.
She has served the community for more than 52 years as a member for the Apollo Bay Hospital Auxiliary – at times she took on the roles of auxiliary board president and secretary – and she has been honoured with an auxiliary life membership.
She was instrumental in establishing the Apollo Bay Opportunity Shop in 1965 as a secure business to raise funds for the hospital, and she still volunteers in the opportunity shop to this day.
Since the opportunity shop has opened it has raised more than $2 million to support the delivery of health care in the community.
Frances has shown that age is not a barrier for helping the community and in Otway Health’s nomination, they said Frances personified the term ‘positive ageing’.
Her consistent support makes her a role model to her generation and younger generations also.
According to Otway Health’s CEO Debra Cerasa: “Frances’ story of commitment to her community has had a positive effect on the social fabric of Apollo Bay and can only serve to inspire others to serve the community as well.”
Arts Service of the Year – Merrill O’Donnell
Merrill O’Donnell has made incredible contributions to the artistic, historical and cultural fabric of the community by capturing local stories, recording local history and ensuring significant community milestones receive recognition.
Motivated by a genuine passion for people and their stories, Merrill works as a volunteer, publicity officer and treasurer with the Colac and District Family History Group.
Her love of history has resulted in numerous publications capturing local stories of early pioneering families that settled the district, of locals involved in the suffragette movement, and the stories of locals who enlisted in WW1.
She was also involved in a national project about the lives of convict women and she was part of group making bonnets to symbolise the importance of capturing and telling the stories of our convict ancestors.
Merrill won national acclaim for a series of articles for The Colac Herald called ‘The many faces of Colac’, which aimed to highlight the rich diversity of cultures that exist in our community.
Merrill was one of the initiators of an event marking the anniversary of the Great War to remember and pay tribute to the soldiers. After forming a community group with the RSL, she helped lead a community event with more than 5000 people attending a dawn service.
Lyn Russell, one of the many people nominating Merrill for an award, said Merrill had a way of bringing people together and engaging everyone, at the same time tapping into her organising skills to keep projects on track and on time.
“Without Merrill’s dedication a very important event would have passed uncelebrated or recognised,” Mrs Russell said.
Merrill’s endeavours to capture local history continue as she works on a project to identify more than 2000 pre-1900 burials in the Colac Cemetery to ensure those unnamed or unmarked graves are identified, located and listed.
And together with fellow history group members she is working on the Unlock the Past expo at the Colac Otway Performing Arts and Cultural Centre this year. This is a major local history and heritage festival featuring 70 exhibitors and presentations.
Merrill has a reputation as the go-to person for help and advice when people are thinking of publishing a book, especially anything to do with history, families and even collections from the past. And she always makes herself available to help.
She also had a role in helping refugee families settle in the community organising English lessons and practical support to Colac’s first refugees.
The many people endorsing Merrill’s nomination have commented on her tireless community contribution, her hands-on approach and her generous spirit and nature in both her numerous work and community roles.
Sporting Service of the Year – Barry Cameron
Colac’s Barry Cameron has had many and varied roles and involvement in sport including 22 years as an active member of the Colac Sportsman’s Club. As a committee member for the past 17 years, his role has included selecting the best Colac Otway Shire sports team and best junior talent.
Through this role he actively encourages and supports Colac Otway young people involved in sport by raising money to sponsor junior sportspeople to reach their full potential.
Colac Sportmans Club secretary Michael Melville nominated Barry for the award, saying “the community has benefited greatly from Barry’s involvement in sport, from promoting junior sport through to helping more senior members of the community.”
Barry is long term member of the Beeac Golf Club. For 34 years he’s been involved as a committee member, serving as club president for two years, secretary for 12 years, club captain for a year, and 27 years as tournament secretary.
He’s been a member of the Colac Lake Bowling Club for 30 years, after playing at Cressy for three years. During his time at the lakeside club, and as well as being a regular pennant player and match committee member for seven years, he’s also encouraged and had a role in coaching new members.
During his time as local primary school teacher, Barry has spent a lot of time encouraging young people to get involved in sport and promoting the great value of participating in sport.
Barry is very inspirational as a role model for sportspeople through his dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to many sports, and willingness to take on positions with various clubs to advance sport in the community.
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