THE high calibre of Derwent Valley volunteers has been recognised in the Australia Day Awards, with two locals taking out the Citizen of the Year for 2022.

Under clear skies at Arthur Square about 50 friends, family and locals watched on as the awards were announced.

The recipients were Adrian James and Kerry Kievit – Citizens of the Year, J’Khobi Bone – Young Citizen of the Year and Ailie Morgan – Sports Person of the Year.

The event was led by Cr Julie Triffett due to the Acting Mayor Jessica Cosgrove contracting Covid.

Guest speaker was Australia Day Ambassador Sally Wise, the local Molesworth cooking guru who was named Senior Australian of the Year for Tasmania in 2019.

Ms Wise said everyone had a story.

“If we listen to each other we are bound to one another, that is our strength,’’ Ms Wise said.
“We respect different world views.
“We have shown we are resilient, we have all learned, we have reached out to others which is the Australian spirit.’’

In a message from Ms Cosgrove read by Ms Triffett, the Acting Mayor said, “many members of the Derwent Valley community would come together to celebrate our people, reflect upon how lucky we are to call Australia home, and recognise our history.
“From our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to those who have lived here their entire life, and others who are new to our region, we celebrate what we achieve together as a unified community,’’ Ms Cosgrove said.
“We are always stronger when we work together and help one another, and our resilient community spirit has seen us overcome some incredibly challenging and unprecedented events over the past year.’’
“Congratulations to those who today have received Australia Day Awards, to all our nominees and thank you to those who took the time to nominate someone for an Australian Day Award. “Together, you have all made a significant and positive contribution to our community. No matter what category our award winners were awarded in, they are an inspiration to many and deserve the recognition they have received today.
“To those who volunteer within our community, it’s hard to come up with the adequate words to describe how much we appreciate you. “Thank you for your generosity, we are so grateful for your dedication towards making the Derwent Valley a better place. Your selfless service is highly commendable.’’

The Derwent Valley Concert Band had planned to perform at the event, however due to the spread of Covid, players cancelled practice.