
CHAMPIONS of the Tumut community were honoured with awards in the Australia Day celebration at the Montreal Theatre on Sunday.
The awards were Tumut awards, with nominations received from members of the community including all Snowy Valleys Council nominations for Tumut residents and organisations.
Tumut’s Montreal Community Theatre committee and Sounds of the Mountains coordinated and hosted Tumut’s Australia Day event, including the invitation to guest speakers Stan Grant and his wife Tracey Holmes.
“We’ve received much great feedback,” co-host Trina Thomson said.
The event was hosted by the Montreal Theatre committee and and local radio station Sounds of the Mountains but nominations for awards came from the community.
Tumut’s 2025 Citizen of the Year
Zita Vafiopulous
The Citizen of the Year award was open to members of the Tumut community who have made an outstanding contribution to the community over a number of years.
Having moved to Tumut in 2005, Zita Vafiopulous became involved with the Tumut RSL Sub Branch and along with her sister-in-law worked to gather and preserve veterans’ records and memorabilia.
Zita is a former member of the Women’s Royal Australian Navy and is devoted to preserving the history of veterans, particularly the men and women of the Snowy Valleys Region.
Zita set up the not-for-profit organisation ‘Snowy Valleys Heroes Inc’ to raise money for the Veterans Hospital in Concord, she also raises money each Anzac and Remembrance days selling badges and poppies.
Zita was pivotal in bringing together a small but dedicated team of like-minded volunteers with research and computer skills and a wealth of local knowledge for the purpose of writing two books titled “Snowy Valleys Heroes”, preserving the memories of our Veterans.
The first book launched last November took two years of extensive research and covered from the Boer War up to World War I. The second book currently being researched will cover World War II up to the Vietnam War.
While researching these book Zita realised no national records existed to acknowledge the role of Aboriginal men and women who had fought for their country from before the Great War. Zita has applied for, and received, funding to set up a national web site title, “Our Indigenous Heroes – They Also Served”, recognizing those Aboriginal men and women.
Zita’s nominator acknowledged her zealousness, integrity, tenacity and ability in working towards honouring veterans in this community.
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Paul Dean is a well-known and respected member of the NSW Police Force having joined in 2003.
He spent his first four years in Sydney before moving back to Tumut where he worked general duties, moving to the NSW Highway Patrol in 2012 as a Senior Constable.
Road safety is Paul’s focus and he has received many Commendations and Awards for the NSW Police Force for his diligence.
Paul has been recognised through a Commissioners Commendation for Courage Award and other certificates, medals and awards.
In 2023 Paul was acknowledged by local MP Member for Wagga Wagga Joe McGirr through a Community Recognition Statement for his initiative to educate children on the importance of wearing safety helmets when riding bikes and scooters. Any child who didn’t have a helmet was given one.
Team Sports Award
Tumut Public School Boys Basketball Team
The team sports award was open to all sports teams in the Tumut area that have achieved outstanding sporting success.
The Tumut Public School Boys Basketball Team were recognised for their outstanding achievement in 2024.
Not only did they claimed two prestigious State Championships, they did so going through undefeated for the season across 19 games.
They were crowned PSSA State Champions, making them the best basketball team in NSW Public Schools for 2024.
Team members are Iluka Penrith, Jack Carroll, Walter Murray, Jake Dodd, Ryan Dowler, Archie O’Sullivan, Joshua Butt and Charlie Dodd.
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Franklin Public School Girls Basketball Team were nominated for their exceptional achievement in being crowned State Champions in the NSWPSSA Knockout.
Competing against 262 schools across the state, they emerged as the best, an extraordinary accomplishment for such a small school.
Team members are Lacey Thatcher, Imogen Provan, McKenna Blewitt, Isabella McGrath, Billie Crampton, Sophie Cobden, Evie Thatcher and Bridgette-Lee O’Keefe.
Sportsperson of the year
Will Crawford
The Sportsperson of the Year was open to anyone who achieved an outstanding result or made a significant ongoing contribution to sport.
Will Crawford’s entry to clay target shooting was attending a ‘come and try clay target day’ at Tumut Clay Target Club almost three years ago.
It was obvious from early on that Will was talented and he rapidly moved up through the grades achieving AA grade status within 12 months of taking up the sport.
AA grade status is where a competitors’ performance is at or above 99.5 per cent success in regular double barrel competition.
Will is currently Number 1 placeholder of the NSW Open Shooting team and will lead the NSW team at the Australian Shooting Championships in Perth later in 2025.
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Dylan Weir is a talented cowboy from Brungle Creek, originally from Tumut. Over the past two years, he has taken bull riding to new heights, claiming victory at the 2023 Xtreme Bull Tour and then set his sights on even bigger achievements in 2024.
Dylan Currently currently leads the Australia Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) Bull Riding title with over $40,000 in earnings, a record for a single bull riding season – an incredible accomplishment and testimony to his talent.
Environment Award
Riverina Highlands Landcare Nursery
The Environmental Award recognises individuals, groups or organisations that have benefited the community in terms of environmental improvement and sustainability.
The Riverina Highlands Landcare Nursery was founded 25 years ago and is now one of the largest community-operated nurseries in southern New South Wales.
The Nursery’s primary focus is to provide local native plants for various Landcare and conservation initiatives and volunteers propagate over 80,000 trees, shrubs, and understorey plants each year, all grown from local provenance seeds.
The Nursery is self-funded, with minimal government support, and employs a full-time coordinator to oversee its operations. Its success is largely due to the dedication of its volunteers who work tirelessly, to manage all aspects of its operations. From seedling propagation and order management to customer service and delivery coordination.
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The FOGO Team – Joanne Jackson, Angela Ward and Jan Russell are recognised for their outstanding work at the Gilmore Composting Facility, Tumut.
These dedicated women play a crucial role in transforming food and garden waste into high-quality compost that benefits the region’s gardens and soil through meticulous attention to detail ensuring contaminants are carefully removed from incoming organic material, allowing the compost to meet the highest standards.
Jo, Angela, and Jan are not only highly skilled composters, they are also passionate advocates for best practices in waste management, sharing their knowledge and inspiring the community.
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Having lived all his life in Tumut, from a young age Austin Dewey developed a keen interest for the natural built environment.
Throughout his early school years he developed a strong interest in the environment and actively participated in Clean Up Australia days, school clean up days and became an avid “cash a can” advocate.
At high school he continued expanding his knowledge of environmental impacts including wood smoke reduction.
His work in LG as an Environmental Health Officer gave him the opportunity to complete qualifications in the field and to have a hand in developing and implementing initiatives such as water restrictions awareness campaigns, plastic bags exchange, Earth Hour promotion and participation, kerbside recycling bin collection and National Tree Day giveaways to mention a few.
Service to the Community Award
Tumut Hospital Auxiliary
The Service to the Community award was open to individuals, groups or organisations who have contributed significantly to the community over a significant period of time.
This year marks 90 years of continuous support by the Tumut Hospital Auxiliary to Tumut Hospital and in doing so 90 years of continuous support for this community.
Since 2005 the Tumut Auxiliary has raised $400,00 and in 2020 were supported by both Rotary and Lions service clubs to raise $44,000 to purchase a much-needed Ultrasound machine to provide local patients the convenience and comfort of being able to access the service at Tumut Hospital.
The major project they will be working on in 2025 is refurbishing a quiet room at the hospital for use by very ill patients and their families. Thanks to the generous private donation and other fundraising the room will be fitted with glass concertina doors that lead out to a grassed area as well as new furnishings and décor.
While the only nomination for this year’s Service to the Community, the Tumut Hospital Auxiliary is indeed a worthy recipient of the Tumut’s 2025 Award for Service to the Community.
Junior Citizen of the Year
Anna Stuart
The Junior Citizen of the Year was open for a young person who has made a significant contribution to the community and who demonstrates leadership qualities.
Anna Stewart is a young lady about to commence Year 10 and is someone who certainly is a deserving nominee for Tumut’s Young citizen of the year.
Anna has been a regular volunteer for numerous organisations and events over the years including three years with the Montreal Community Theatre.
Anna is an active member of the Snowy Valleys Youth Council, was a dedicated volunteer at last year’s major Bloom festival ensuring the –glow in the dark chalk was manned at all times and also has been volunteering at a local dairy for the past seven months.
Anna represented Tumut High School at the Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) District 9705 in November last years and is also a passionate participant in the RYCE Cattle Parading program with Tumut High School which involves commitment both during school hours and in her own time.
Anna is the current 2024/25 Swim Club Captain for the Tumut Swimming Club and is a great role model and mentor for younger swimmers.
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