Waverley Awards its Local Heroes

10 April 2017

MEDIA RELEASE

At a special presentation on Wednesday 5 April, Waverley Council recognised the honourable achievements of three of its community members at the Waverley Local Hero Awards 2016.

Since 2005, Waverley Council has acknowledged and rewarded its community leaders and volunteers.

This year’s Waverley Local Hero winner is Joe Coelho. He has been recognised for his hard work in the preservation of photographs which will form part of Waverley’s unique Local History Collection- a collection of photos.

Joe created an annotated database for these images and re-organised the hard copies into an easily accessible catalogue for the community. To achieve this he has been volunteering up to 12 hours a week for several years on the project. 

The winner of the Certificate of Commendation is Paul Hotton. Paul’s dedication, leadership and advocacy of surf lifesaving is truly commendable.

Paul joined the North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club in 2010 and in 2015 was appointed the Head of Education and responsible for the training and assessment of new members.

He has completed over 250 volunteer hours and over 55 patrol hours alone this season.

This year’s Young Local Hero Award went to an inspirational young volunteer who was selected by the panel for his dedication to providing knowledge and assistance to those at Waverley Library who have limited digital experience.

This young man’s desire to help people improve their computer skills in a rapidly changing digital world is commendable. He has spent up to seven hours a week sharing his knowledge, particularly with older people, who often use technology to stay in touch with their family and friends.

 “What’s really special about this group of people is they don’t realise what impact they have had on our community,” said Mayor Sally Betts about the deserving recipients.

“It is their dedication to volunteering, their time, patience, knowledge and sense of community that makes me proud to be the Mayor of Waverley. Itis a truly special place to live with so many amazing people.

“We admire their generosity of spirit and those they have helped. Congratulations to all our winners.”