Australia Day awards in Violet Town
Citizen of the Year 2010 - Michael McLaughlin
Michael McGlauglin receives Citizen of the Year Award. Click image
Michael, or "Mick" as he is widely known, has been a member of the Violet Town community for over twenty years, during which time his efforts have contributed to the betterment of the town.
Mick joined the Violet Town Lions Club in August 2003 and has maintained an active role since then. He has held various offices including that of club president, and has participated in many activities, such as working bees, wood splitting and wood deliveries, and representing his club at various meetings. Each month he assists the organisers of the town's major fund-raising activity, the Violet Town market, by picking up supplies and setting up early. In all, Mick contributes an average often hours a week to Lions Club activities, always using his private vehicle, and he allows the use of his shed for storage of Lions' equipment.
Violet Town Football Netball Club is grateful for Mick's contribution as a trainer. In this capacity he cares for the physical wellbeing of all members, including administering first aid to any who need it. He helps with building, maintenance venue preparation, transport and laundry. He attends every game, and is currently president of the Trainers' Association, a position he has held for two years.
Mick is a past treasurer of the Violet Town Action Group and is an active participant in all its activities. Also long-time CFA member, Mick has been presented with his ten-year medallion and regularly attends incidents and meetings.
He is an affiliated member of the Violet Town RSL Sub-Branch and, while relatively new to that organisation, has already made significant contributions. He ensures that the cemetery (where he helped erect the flagpole) is prepared for the occasions when the RSL has to use it and is an active participant on ANZAC Remembrance Days. For several years Mick has been the active volunteer caretaker of the cemetery and he is now a Board member of the Cemetery Trust.
Apart from formal involvement in the community as above, Mick is active in a private role, assisting many with tasks that they are unable to manage themselves. He is an unassuming man who doesn't seek public recognition but is usually the first to come forward as a volunteer. He is a man of his word, without many airs and graces: what you see is what you get. Everyone would notice the gap if he were not there.
Mick McLaughlin could be defined as "A Good Bloke" and is a deserving recipient of Violet Town's Australia Day Citizen of the Year Award in 2010.
Community Event of the Year 2010 - Choir of Hard Knocks Droughtbuster Concert
Community Event of the Year 2010 award accepted by Helen and Renee Rankin, Howard Myers, Lynne Parker and Robbie Rae. Click image
The Choir of Hard Knocks Droughtbuster Concert at Violet Town on 14 February 2009 was a free event that attracted more than 4000 people from across Victoria and interstate.
People arrived early in the day to secure a good position, and the Choir did not disappoint them! It took several encores before the audience would allow them to leave the stage at the close of an amazing night.
These events do not come together without the enthusiasm of a dedicated and committed group of people with a vision to do something "out of the box". Planning the event took eighteen months of regular committee meetings between Strathbogie Shire Council events staff, VicRoads, Victoria Police and other organisations. A strong media campaign gained wide exposure for the event.
The unique nature of the occasion attracted sponsorship and in-kind contributions from the Choir itself, Relationships Australia, the Pratt Foundation, Strathbogie Shire Council, Splitrock Water, Victoria Police and the University of Melbourne - Disability Liaison.
However, it was the hard-working, community-based organisations of Violet Town - the mainstay of the town - that enabled the event to exceed expectations. These organisations were the Lions Club, Op Shop, Bush Nursing Centre, CFA, Football Netball Club and Red Cross. Their combined band of generous volunteers did much to ensure the safety of those attending, by directing traffic and car parking and making sure that everyone, from performers to audience, was well fed.
The significance of this being an alcohol-free event was such that its success demonstrates the opportunity for other events to follow this community example.
The concert followed one of the most horrendous weeks in Victoria's history, the Black Saturday bushfires. Although initially conceived as something to bring the community together to share the fall-out from years of drought, the concert provided an opportunity for the community to donate to the Bushfire Relief Fund. The CFA conducted a "tin rattle" and collected $8000 - a fantastic result.
The crowd sang, clapped, danced and thoroughly enjoyed what was an uplifting and inspiring concert; such was the power of the Choir.
This was truly an event to be declared the winner of the Australia Day Community Event of the Year Award in 2010 for both Violet Town and the Shire of Strathbogie.