Blue Mountains City Council

 

Congratulations also to the recipients of the Blue Mountains Australia Day (Local Citizen of the Year Awards) 2012:

 

John Oakey has made an outstanding contribution to the Blue Mountains through his approach to combating graffiti in Blaxland and Glenbrook.

 

Since 2004 he has almost singlehandedly turned Blaxland & Glenbrook from a NSW hotspot to a largely graffiti-free zone.

In addition to physically removing graffiti, John has developed at his own expense a Graffiti Offenders program and works with young people to help them understand the damage their actions cause.

John also has served 46 years with Scouts NSW and was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary.

 

John has been inspirational as an advocate for civic pride, community action and constructive community service for young offenders both locally in the Blue Mountains and in the broader community.

 

John is a most worthy recipient of the 2012 Blue Mountains Australia Day Citizen Award.

  

 

Greg is a motivated young man actively committed to community development and social justice for people, communities and countries in need.

 

Greg is the founding member of the Ride4kids charity, featuring two 1,000km bike rides to date – from Ballarat to Sydney and from Brisbane to Sydney. So far over $65,000 has been raised to support the construction of schools in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.

 

Critical to Greg’s achievements is the involvement of the Blue Mountains community. Greg’s efforts in engaging the local community in his charity work is commendable. Greg is involved in public speaking and presentations with local and regional schools and a variety of community groups to promote the purpose and vision behind the charity projects. He has also developed a Ride4Kids website as a promotional and educational tool which is used as a classroom resource.

 

This Award is presented to Greg in recognition of his dedication and selflessness to assist others and for building a strong sense of involvement and ownership amongst local schools in his work and cause.

 

Greg is an inspirational role model and we wish him every success with his Doctorate and his future.

 

 

Pat is the second youngest cricket player to represent Australia.

 

Pat’s outstanding efforts to date in both National and International cricket, culminated in his selection in the Australian Test Cricket team, the Australian One Day International and Australian Twenty 20 International in South Africa in October and November last year.

 

On top of his sporting commitments, Pat is dedicating his time to repaying the support of the Blue Mountains community by actively contributing to junior gala and coaching clinics with Glenbrook/Blaxland Cricket Club, appearances and signings for charity and involvement in club presentations.

 

Pat has demonstrated determined sportsmanship, an admirable work ethic and is an inspiration to his peers and our community.

 

It is with great pleasure that I present Pat with the 2012 Blue Mountains Australia Day Sportsperson of the Year Award and wish him well in his cricketing career and all his future endeavours.