Published on Tuesday, 2 February 2021 at 7:08:38 AM
Reflect, Respect, Celebrate
Australia Day Speech - Shire President, Cr Katrina Crute
The Shire of Brookton is made of many parts and collectively we are the whole. We all have a part, we have our part in our families, we have a part in our community, and we have a part in our story. Today we will acknowledge through our community awards, the part that Carol Bond & the Brookton Choral Society play in our community.
For me, Australia Day is a day to reflect, respect, and celebrate, a time to celebrate our extraordinary achievements. We are a community, a nation that began tens of thousands of years ago, and we have untold chapters of our story still to write. To reflect on the chapter that is 2020 will be to reflect on the resilience of our community, our state, and our nation, and celebrate the spirit of helping, giving and supporting that defines us as Australians,
It truly has been a year like no other in our living memory. It has thrown us challenges we could not have anticipated, For us, it all began on March 13th when the Prime Minister announced that there could be no gatherings greater than 500 people and that saw the 2020 Old Time Motor Show cancelled for the first time, from there on it was a roller coaster. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for looking our for yourselves, your family, your neighbours, and our community, by working together we have kept each other safe. You embraced a new way of doing business, a new way of engaging with each other, you supported our local businesses and our community groups in a time of uncertainty, and for that I thank you.
During 2020 our community has also lost members that were valued contributors to the fabric of our community over many years, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contribution and pass on the condolences of the community to their families, they will be forever remembered for their part in our story.
Today is a day where I, on behalf of council and you the community get the great privilege to stand before you and acknowledge & celebrate those making extraodinary contributions to our community. For those that do not know how the awards work, Council invites nominations from the community within four categories, Citizen of the Year, Community Event, Voluntary Act, and Young Person. the criteria for the nominations are available on the Shire of Brookton website or by calling the office. I encourage you all to look around you there are many people worthy of nomination.
During the last week of the October 2020 school holidays, the Brookton Choral Society hosted the Kids Fun & Magic Afternoon. The day was a huge success with about 90 children of all aged attending. Parents, grandparents, and friends all joined in the fun, helping and happily interacting with each other, It was a true mix of all generations and cultures joining in together, The Town Hall offered a wonderful back drop for learning and performing magic tricks, there were cup pyramids, board games, face painting, finger puppet theatre, costume dress-ups and many more activities.
There were many people and organisations involved in the putting together of this wonderful community event, it was a true community effort. In a year where our children have had so many upheavals, having good old-fashioned fun was certainly a big hit.
It gives me great pleasure to award the Community Event of the Year Award to the Kids Magic Afternoon. I would like to invite representatives form the Brookton Choral Society to come forward and accept this award.
There are some people in our community who quietly go about making Brookton a great place for others to live, they go out of their way to ensure the wellbeing of others, and Carol Bond is one such person. She is referred to in the nomination received by Council as "Mrs Brookton". Carol lives, breathes, and embraces her community wholeheartedly, Carol has dedicated her whole like to our community, if there is a job to be done Carol is there, paint brush in one hand, tray of scones in the other, and always a welcoming smile. Carol is a doer, when Carol hears of someone in need, she is the first to be there. Carol has cooked and sewn her way into the hearts of many, beyond her family and friends. Carol has an open-door policy where cups of tea on the patio are the norm for a woman who many have turned to over the years,
The positions Carol has held in our community seem endless, but to name but a few:
- Brookton Junior Farmers Secretary
- Brookton Netball Club Association President
- Upper Great Southern Netball Association President
- Uniting Church Guild President & Secretary
- Brookton Scouts & Cubs Secretary
- Brookton Historical Society Secretary
- Narrogin Hostel Board Parent Representative
- Brookton Patchwork & Craft Group President
- Brookton Junior Football Club Secretary
- Brookton district High School Canteen President
- Brookton Tennis Club House Captain
- Children's Services Association Wheatbelt Representative
- Brookton Health Services Committee Member
- Brookton Community Resource Centre Committee Member
- CWA President & Vice President
- Brookton District High School Chaplaincy Advocate
- Friends of Kalkarni President & Secretary
- Brookton Choral Society Member
These positions that Carol has held represents an estimated total of 59 years of Service to the Community of Brookton; not including the 40+ years Carol has been a member of the Choral Society or the other General Committee roles that Carol has taken on over the years. An extraordinary contribution by a truly extraordinary woman to the Community of Brookton and the wider region, Carol is described in her nomination as a woman of integrity and kindness and never stops looking for opportunities to help others.
It gives me great pleasure to announce Carol Bond as the recipient of this year's Shire of Brookton Citizen of the Year Award.
On the back of several COVID-19 funding opportunities, the Shire of Brookton was successful in securing $20,000 in the first round of the COVID Safe Australia Day Grant. The grant is enabling us to install another electric BBQ here at Memorial Park, seating for the pool, some additional portable trestle tables, and a new shade structure for the pool as well as some incidental COVID safe items. On behalf of the Shire of Brookton, I would like to thank the National Australia Day Council for the wonderful opportunity that has been afforded our community.
Just a quick reminder, the public feedback period for the Town Hall closes on the 5th February, please have your say, the feedback is very important in informing Council.
For those that don't not know the pool is open today & it is free entry for everyone.
As we all know, days like today do not magically happen, there is a lot of work that goes into what you see here. Firstly, to the Shire Administration, Sandie Spencer, Rick Gill, Debbie Spinks and Kellie Bartley, thank you. To Lance Marchesi and your helpers thank you for ensuring we have tables and chairs to sit on. To Anne Stedman & Kate Walker and you band of merry helpers thank you, I know I say this every year, but we truly appreciate what you do for this community beyond just what you see here today.
To you the Community thank you, it is the greatest privilege to stand here before you, we really are the sum of our whole, a community to be celebrated, a community we can all be extremely proud to call home.
I leave you with the following:
The Story of Australia, it is the story of me, it is the story of you, it is the story of we. In parts it is painful, in parts it is raw, in others its beautiful, inspiring great awe. It tells of many people from far and wide, and those who have been here since the beginning of time. It brings us together and tears us apart, we all have our views. So where do we start? By listening to each other and sharing our part.
Together by acknowledging each other's story, we can build a strong and resilient community, a community that is vibrant, engaging, and welcoming, a community of choice, I look forward to 2021 with optimism that together we can achieve our collective goals
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