The announcement of the awards was made by Mayor Neville Castle at the official 2012 Australia Day celebrations in conjunction with the Australia Day Ambassador, Vanessa Crisp.

“It is with great pleasure that I announce the recipients of the 2012 Local Citizen of the Year Award and the Community Event of the Year Award,” said Mayor Neville Castle.

The Mayor went on to say that the local Australia Day awards are a great opportunity to pay tribute to those wonderful people and organisations in our community who give so much and make Lithgow such a wonderful place to live.

“I am very pleased to announce that the 2012 Local Citizen of the Year is Ms Janice Hawken and the 2012 Community Event of the Year is the Tidy Towns 2011 Celebrations organised by Lithgow Tidy Towns Incorporated,” the Mayor said.

Citizen of the Year
Janice Hawken

Janice Hawken’s contribution to Lithgow’s community has been focussed on helping those with disabilities and raising funds for projects for a wide variety of organisations.

Janice’s work for those with disabilities began at Sunny Bank School which became the Challenge Foundation. She was instrumental in establishing community homes for adult people with disabilities, which enabled them to live with more independence. She also played a leading role in organising the very first Disabled Debutante Ball held at the Lithgow RSL Club.

Janice has been an active fund raiser for the Quota Club, the Volunteer Rescue Association, the State Emergency Services, the Girls Guides, The Lithgow Cancer Support Group, local sporting associations and preschools and many more groups.

She has been a member of the Vale Ladies Association for over 30 years and has been on the committee of Tanderra and Three Tree Lodge Nursing Homes.

Community Event of the Year
Lithgow Tidy Towns Incorporated –
2011 Tidy Towns Celebrations

The effort and enthusiasm of the members of Lithgow Tidy Towns Incorporated has resulted in improved attitudes and pride in their town, by the whole Lithgow community.

For 25 years, Lithgow Tidy Towns has instigated and supported programs in the Lithgow Area to improve the life style of its citizens and implement sustainable improvements to the environment. They have received many awards, two special ones being Winner of NSW Tidiest Town in 1997 and Winner of Australian Tidiest Town in 2011.

From the 4th– 6th November 2011 the organisation hosted the Tidy Towns Celebrations. Over three hundred visitors experienced the best of Lithgow with seven different events being held. As well as the civic pride felt by the community, local businesses experienced a boom and tourist attractions benefited from the positive exposure.

Also in attendance at the Awards was the NSW Governor, Marie Bashir, who recognised Lithgow as a very worth recipient of the Awards.

Lithgow Tidy Town’s efforts have made a real difference to the community of Lithgow and this event is a great example of what can be achieved by working together.

Contact:

Mayor Neville Castle
Tel: 02 6354 9999
Fax: 02 6351 4259

Wendy Hawkes
Tel: 02 6354 9999
Fax: 02 6351 4259