Hannah Hammoud
Recipients of the 2022 Whittlesea Council Community Awards were crowned at the Community Festival on Sunday, March 19, for their contributions to making Whittlesea a better place to live and work.
CFA member and netball umpire Deborah Azzopardi was named Citizen of the Year for her work in both roles spanning across more than 20 years.
Retired GP Mark Beeby received the Senior Citizen of the Year Award for his commitment toward looking after the community.
Young ambassador of the Sanskriti community group, Hanskiaa Sharma received the Young Citizen of the Year award to acknowledge her work in supporting women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Kim Huat Lim received the Access and Inclusion Citizen of the Year award for his volunteer work as a bus driver for Whittlesea Community Connections for over three years.
Tanya Sharma, 11, was presented with the Sustainable Environment Citizen of the Year to recognise her efforts in promoting an education campaign on the dangers of cigarette butt litter.
Whittlesea council administrator Peita Duncan said there were 27 nominations across all five categories.
“As a committee we were so impressed by [the] calibre of the nominations which really highlight the strong community spirit … it really is quite heart-warming, and especially wonderful to see so many young people stepping up to make a difference so early in their lives,” Ms Duncan said.
