With Australia Day right around the corner the nominees for the 2020 Cowra Australia Day Awards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cowra Mayor, Bill West, said Council was thrilled with the outstanding nominations they had receved for the awards.
"We have a considerable number of people doing great things in our community and it's wonderful to see them receive recognition for that." he said.
"This year, there are seven nominations for Citizen of the Year, from all around the Shire and from an extensive variety of voluntary roles.
"We also had four nominations for the Community Group of the Year and one nomination for Young Citizen of the Year.
"Unfortunately, no nominations were received this year for the Dr Warren Whiley Memorial Award for significant contributions to Arts, Culture and Citizenship Award," he said.
This year's Cowra Citizen of the Year nominees are:
William (Bill) Murphy
Bill Murphy is best known as one of Cowra's leading Accountants, as owner of SWM Chartered Accountants. He is little known for his other many community services.
Bill has been a member of Cowra Apex, Rotary Club of Cowra with a stint as President, Chairman of Cowra 2000, Shire Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Chairman of St Raphael's Parish Council and past contributor to many organisations as Treasurer.
Bill was Chair of several Council committees during his time as a Shire Councillor. One of Bill's particular achievements was as part of the Cowra Retirement Village Association which resulted in the building of Bilyara and Kalyan Court.
Ian Brown
Ian Brown is another well-known character of Cowra. Widely known as a local Pharmacist, he has several other strings to his bow.
Ian is current Chairperson of the Cowra Community Chest and Australian Chapter of the World Peace Bell Committee; has been a Shire Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Chairing several Council Committees during the period 1995 - 2016; Rotary Club of Cowra member and Chair of the Rotary District 9700 Peace Fellowship Committee; past Director of the Wyangala Park Trust and Cowra Chamber of Commerce; current Director of Cowra Retirement Village and Chair of its Clinical Governance sub-committee.
Ian has been awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship for service to his club through the Rotary program, notching up 43 years as a Rotarian during 2019.
Jordan Core
Jordan Core is the Cowra Business Chamber President and is kicking goals locally, regionally and as current NSW Chamber of the Year.
Jordan has held this role for three years and dedicates thousands of hours to the Chamber. He initiated TradeZone and AgriZone, networking events for trade and agriculture industries and was heavily involved in the development of the Cowra Business Hub.
The Business Hub has opened its doors to provide business owner skill development, forklift driver training and other training programs.
Jordan's commitment to business has seen him invited to work with the NSW Business Chamber as an ambassador for all Chambers in NSW.
Arthur Hogan
Voluntary community service for Arthur Hogan is just a way of life.
Arthur has over 60 years contributing to community organisations, an amazing commitment. Arthur is or has been a member of Wattamondara Recreation Ground Trust, Wattamondara Progress Association, Riding for the Disabled, St Vincent de Paul Society, Antioch Youth Group, St Raphael's Church and School, Cowra Trail Riding Club, Cowra Show Society, Cowra Jockey Club, Cowra Rugby League, Cowra Golf Club, Wattamondara Campdraft and Rodeo, Cowra Campdraft, Wattamondara Team Penning and Wattamondara Cricket Club.
Arthur's nomination states "he has dedicated his life to volunteer community work...he has the amazing ability to connect with people of all ages and from all walks of life."
Robert Oliver
Entering his sixth year as Cowra Golf Club President, Robert is seeing his efforts come to fruition.
The Cowra Golf Club has seen a revitalisation and growth since Robert took the reins as President, making difficult financial decisions to ensure its ongoing viability.
The club now employs over 20 people. Robert spends upwards of 30 hours a week working on projects at the club, mowing, general maintenance and business development.
The refurbishment of the clubhouse was one of Robert's projects, leading to the Golf Club becoming one of Cowra's most used function centres.
Robert still has projects to complete and is driving the committee to a strong, stable future.
Alison Rutledge
Woodstock Show and St Raphael's Catholic School have seen the benefits of Alison's volunteer work.
Over the past five years, she has served both organisations to provide community development initiatives that support their aims and ideals.
Woodstock Show has Alison as Honorary Secretary and Publicity Officer. In these roles she has provided promotional and creative expertise to increase participation from 500 to over 4000 since 2014.
Increased gate takings has led to increased Show profits that have been donated back to the Woodstock community, including the Woodstock Swimming Pool, Public School and CWA.
Alison also provides support to St Raphael's Catholic School by driving development of the Eco-playground, an environmental project including native gardens, environmental sustainability and food production.
Since its inception, Alison works with students once a week in the gardens and often works on weekends and during school holidays to maintain the gardens.
Neville Pengilly
Neville Pengilly is recognised as a lovely person and his nomination reflects his community-minded life.
Neville was one of the first members of the Bellevue Lodge aged care units which grew into the Cowra Retirement Village of today, incorporating 82 hostel rooms, 50 self-care units and 14 dementia care beds.
Neville initially engaged support for this ambitious project from the United Protestants Association, then both Masonic Lodges of Cowra to continue development.
He has served as a committee member since inception and continues to this day.
His community work includes being a Lay Preacher and Chair of the Uniting Church of Cowra, conducting services at the Uniting Church, Bilyara and Weeroona; Cowra Municipal and Shire Councillor from 1972 to 1992; Advisory Committee member and supporter of the Cowra Food Hall; and driver of maintenance and upgrades to Wesley Uniting Church and Hall, taking on many maintenance jobs himself.
The Awards will be presented at Cowra's Australia Day celebrations on Sunday, January 26 at the Cowra Civic Centre.
