Waverley local heroes of the year 2012

Waverley Local Hero of the Year

Graham Ford
John Wright
Peter McCallum
Jenni Iloski
Zac Cherry

Local Hero Gallery

Graham Ford

Graham Ford is an integral part of the surf lifesaving community and the Waverley community.

A tireless leader for the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, he volunteers many hours to ensure the smooth running of the club.

Graham is a life member of Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, and has held the role of President and Director of Management for the past 15 years. Not one to shy away from active work, he volunteers as a surf life saver at Bronte Beach.

In October 2010, Graham was elected President of Surf Life Saving Australia, the national governing and coordinating body of surf life saving.

Graham continues to contribute an enormous amount to the Waverley community and surf lifesaving on a national level and is recognised as the 2012 Waverley Local Hero of the Year.

John Wright 

Highly commended

John Wright is a well known figure in the Waverley community, volunteering his time for various organisations in the area.

An active Justice of the Peace since 1955, John continues to assists local residents by witnessing signatures, signing statutory declarations and helping to complete government forms.

John has been a member of the Bondi Junction Rotary Club since 1963. He has played an integral role in various community focused initiatives including the with the Rotaract Club of Bondi, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, Probus Club of Bondi Beach, fundraising to support Edina Retirement Village, supporting local Meals on Wheels services and working with various local organisations on projects.

Invited to join the Waverley Community and Seniors Association in 1997, he now chairs the committee of volunteers who work in support of the Association.

John continues to volunteer in the Waverley community and deserves recognition for his outstanding efforts.

Peter McCallum

Highly commended

Peter McCallum has been a Waverley resident for over 40 years and has contributed in both professional and volunteer capacities to the local community.

Peter was principal of Bronte Public School for 17 years. Peter’s determination and hard work in the local community, with Waverley Council and the NSW Government led to a joint project for the construction of a community hall at the school. Peter has continued to provide computer and typing tuition for students at Bronte Public School since his retirement as principal in 1999.

Peter has been a member of the Eastern Suburbs Community College (now City East) for over 26 years, and served as founding president for over twenty years.

A member of the Waverley Historical Society for over 25 years, Peter promotes an understanding of local history, regularly writing historical articles for The Bondi View and in the Society’s own Bulletin. He serves on the Society’s committee and has worked on improving audio-visual aids.

Peter continues to be actively involved in various community organisations and is highly commended on the outstanding contributions he makes to Waverley.

Waverley Young Local Hero of the Year

Jenni Iloski

Twenty-three-year-old Jenni Iloski is an inspiring young woman. She saw a need in her community and actively sought to make a difference.

At the age of 19, Jenny identified the need for a program to help young people living in and out of home care (without family support) to get their drivers’ licences and had the idea to start the Greenlight Movement. This  Bondi Youth Accommodation initiative pairs young people, who don't have family support with volunteer supervising drivers.

Jenni, with the assistance of the Bondi Youth Accommodation, spent two years planning and setting up the structure for the service, and they successfully gained funding to set up a pilot program in June 2011. The Greenlight Movement is an incredible initiative with the first participant hoping to gain her drivers licence in February 2012.

Jenni’s determination and persistence is inspirational and her outstanding efforts are recognised with the 2012 Young Hero of the Year Award.

Zac Cherry

Seventeen-year-old Zac Cherry is a student at Rose Bay Secondary College about to commence his Year 12 studies.

Zac has volunteered his time for St John’s Ambulance for over two years including at many events such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show, City 2 Surf and Blackmore’s Running Festival. Zac is the assistant to the logistics officer of St John’s Ambulance South Sydney Cadet Division.

Zac has been an active member of his school’s Student Representative Council since Year 7, contributing to school life and leadership. Zac is the Technical Director of the school’s audio visual crew and has been involved in various school productions.

Zac designed and operated the lighting for various theatre shows produced by Rockdale Musical Society and Chatswood Musical Society, including Rent, Avenue Q, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Beauty and the Beast.

Zac is an outstanding student who finds the time to give back to his community while completing his high school studies.