Australia Day Awards 2016
January 26, 2016
Happy Australia Day
On this special Australia Day morning, the 1st Sebastopol Girl Guides assisted the City of Ballarat at the Australia Day Awards and Citizenship Ceremony. The Guides welcomed guests, provided the flag procession (colour party), served morning tea, and assisted Mayor Des Hudson with his Citizenship presentations.
Australia Day Awards
Girl Guides with Mayor Des Hudson at the 2016 Australia Day Awards and Citizenship Ceromony
Every year, the City of Ballarat presents Australia Day Awards recognising positive contributions to the local community. This year, there were 15 individual candidates and 4 community groups.
- Ballarat Citizen of the Year
- Ballarat Young Citizen of the Year
- Community Activity of the Year
Girl Guides with Ballarat Australia Day award recipient Annie Jean Smail
The girls witnessed the Citizen of the Year award being presented to Annie Jean Smail, another busy woman in the community.
As stated by Mayor Des Hudson:
“Annie’s active life has seen her give years of voluntary service to a large number of key Ballarat organisations. Her list of achievements is distinguished as is her contribution to many, many Ballarat community institutions”
Annie was involved in the planning for Sovereign Hill and has served many years on its Interiors Committee. She has been a member of the National Trust for more than fifty years, has been on the City of Ballarat Heritage Advisory Committee, and has been actively involved with the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Ballarat Arts Council. She has served as the Director of the Ballarat Bridge Club, a Charter member of Zonta Club of Ballarat, a foundation member of Ballarat Epicurean Wine and Food Society and a secretary of the Organs of the Goldfields Festival for the past 12 years.
Citizenship Ceremony
It was a privilege for the Girl Guides to be part of the special ceremony where 19 Ballarat residents officially became citizens of Australia. The recipients were from Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and the United Kingdom. They each made the citizenship pledge/affirmation and were presented with a certificate, native plant, koala toy and a City of Ballarat gift bag.
