ALL THE WINNERS: Parkes Shire Council holds 2021 Citizen of the Year award

As always, the highlight of the day was the Citizen and Sport Awards - with Hedley Nicholson OAM named as Parkes' Citizen of the Year and Gabrielle Clyburn nabbing the Sportsperson of the Year gong.

Congratulations to all the award recipients!

Hedley Nicholson

Hedley Nicholson has given his time selflessly to the Parkes community for more than 50 years.

He has dedicated more than half of his life to the Parkes Tennis Club, undertaking President and Vice President roles as well as a committee member during this time.

Hedley mows, sprays weeds, cleans and repairs the courts and fixtures, maintains the Clubhouse, the bathrooms, fencing and painting.

In the early days when the courts were all made of ant bed surface, he would bag, water, bag, roll and mark 11 courts four days a week for competition play.

This volunteer work, which equates to more than $1 million, has not only enabled the club to keep costs low for the players, but also took enormous pressure off Parkes Shire Council to invest in resources to maintain the facility.

Born and bred in Parkes, Hedley's parents had both died by the time he was just 13 years old.

Consequently, it was these humble and arduous beginnings at the receiving end of much charity and goodwill of others in his community, that has instilled an unyielding desire to give back to his town and its people.

What a deserved win for such a humble and lovely genteman.

Congratulations, Hedley!

Darcey Hoyle

Darcey is an outstanding young citizen who has raised the profile of the LGBTIQA+ communities and climate change within Parkes High School and the wider community.

Although they humbly claim to just be part of the team, Darcey was the chief organiser of the Parkes School Strike for Climate and the "Wear it Purple" day, in support of young people who identify as sexually or gender diverse.

Darcey is also a talented and gifted student receiving numerous awards including Dux of PHS for 2021, ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Teamwork Award and Excellence in Public Speaking and is an active member of the Parkes M & D Society and teacher at Parkes Dance Co.

Parkes and District Kennel Club

After a COVID-enforced absence, the Parkes and District Kennel Club hosted an amazing weekend of jumping and agility trials in April, with over 100 competitors entered and 968 runs taking place.

It showed the club, run by volunteers, has the capacity to host big events with 1000 runs, and after some more funding the amazing club is set to host even bigger and better events in 2022.

It was particularly fantastic that club members were still able to achieve great success at the trial despite being run off their feet working at the trial all weekend - with a number earning qualifications, victory and placings.

Monique O'Toole

Monique O'Toole is a motivated student who completed the Certificate II in Business course at Parkes TAFE during the tumultuous year of 2021.

She started the course by attending face-to-face classes but was then asked to work on units independently when the COVID-19 lockdown occurred in April - but her unwavering commitment and dedication to her studies saw her successfully complete the course by the year's end.

During this time, Monique also managed to obtain part-time work with the Parkes Shire Council and, from October, also works at the Parkes Council Swimming Pool.

Kokoda Biodiversity Offset - CMOC-Northparkes Mines

Northparkes wins the Environmental Award this year for their work on an offset property of the mine - 'Kokoda'.

Also a recipient of the 2021 Skillset Land Words Award, Northparkes partnered with Skillset two years ago to work on the project.

The project is dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the biodiversity of the area.

The project trains and employs local Land Works crews, who rehabilitate the area with tree planting and revegetation management plans.

Since the project began, over 18,000 trees have been planted, and a number of local people, including a high portion of Indigenous peoples, have worked on the project.

Alicia Rivett

Alicia is a senior member and leader of the Eco Kids group at Parkes East Public School and a passionate advocate for helping the environment and educating her peers and teachers to become a more sustainable school.

During 2021, she took the initiative to run a number of programs at the school including the Return and Earn program, recycling the school drink containers and using the proceeds to fund environmental projects at school, Bread Tags for Wheelchairs and the school vegetable garden.

Jessica Kinsela

Miss Jess, who now owns and runs Parkes Dance Co, is a very popular and talented dance teacher to many children around Parkes.

Jess has recently organised, choreographed and personally performed multiple dance items (both solo and a group) at the Parkes Dance Co Showcase as part of her Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management.

She has created beautiful pieces showcasing different aspects of dance styles and demonstrating a myriad of technical, chorographical techniques in solo pieces, duo pieces and coordinating a group of dancers.

She is to be applauded for her intricate, creative and expressive performance as well as recognised for her organisation and creation of soloists and group performances.

Parkes in Photos of Years Gone By (Facebook page)

This popular Facebook page, with over 8800 members, connects past and present Parkes residents from all over Australia.

Run by administrators Geoff Anderson, Brett Miller, Samantha Ross, Tee Dewar, Bill Cox, Belinda Green and Lynnie Fletcher, the group often features photos and memories that are decades old.

It is a fantastic way for people to connect online about the best shire in the nation - Parkes.

Helen Gray

Helen Gray is a talented visual artist working in multimedia, including oil painting, lino printing and drawing as well as silk screen printing, to mention a few.

Helen is always prepared to offer her skills to others, always enthusiastic and supportive of other's efforts, and shares her talent will her local community in Trundle and has also given workshops to Tullamore.

Helen held classes with the Trundle community to develop Public Art on the Trundle Library wall and also participated in the Arts Festival, providing her skills to the Parkes community.

Elsie Mahon

Elsie Mahon is a long serving member of the Parkes arts and creative community, encouraging both young and old members of Parkes Shire to participate in the arts.

She has generously shared her skills, knowledge and time teaching within the community, often in a volunteer capacity, such as painting classes at the Southern Cross Village, and has taught many skills to community members such as pottery, painting, flower decorating, mosaics and many more creative pursuits for more than 40 years.

If there is any need for assistance with arts and creative cultural events, Elsie is often the first to volunteer her time and skills, such as setting up exhibitions and displays, and judging at local shows.

She has volunteered her time to community groups such as the Parkes M&D painting huge backdrops, and has been a passionate and dedicated member of the Parkes Pottery Group ensuring its ongoing success.

Elsie is currently a member of the Parkes Community Arts Committee and actively supports the work of the Parkes Shire Arts Advisory Council.

Beverley Elliott

Ron and John Davis

Tiashayla Dawson

Peak Hill CanAssist Community

Digger Anderson

William Taylor (Captain under 16 Forbes Magpies)

Amber Roach

Daniel Smith and Cooper Bond

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