There is still time to nominate your local heroes for the 2022 Bass Coast Australia Day Awards for Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year.

Do you know someone great in our community, who regularly goes above and beyond, you can always rely on for help, or you admire for their contribution to the community? Perhaps you know someone who has contributed to the safety, wellbeing and connectedness of their community.

We need your help to identify and nominate your local heroes, so we can celebrate all they do in Bass Coast.

Nominating is easy and only takes a few minutes.

To nominate someone by Thursday, 25 November 2021, visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/ausday2022. The finalists and winners will be announced on Wednesday, 19 January 2022.

This year’s Bass Coast Citizen of the Year, Mat Bowtell, said that this recognition is important, to encourage others to continue to bring their best to Bass Coast.

“I was very touched that someone had taken the time to nominate me. It really made me feel like a valued member of our community,” Mr Bowtell said.

“Nominating someone is a very kind way to show that they are appreciated and encourages them to continue being their best.

“It is a very kind acknowledgement of the work that I’m doing in trying to help others. I feel that it shows my work is valued in the local community and that I have the support of the citizens of Bass Coast. It has also made sure that I am on my best behaviour this year,” Mr Bowtell concluded.

This year’s Bass Coast Young Citizen of the Year, Margaret Sand, said nominating your peers is a great opportunity to give recognition to those who are deserving of acknowledgement, for the great work they do in the community.

“I felt immensely grateful for being nominated for such an amazing experience,” Miss Sand said.

“There are many young, selfless individuals that sacrifice their time and money to make a difference in the community,” Miss Sand concluded.

All nominees should:

• Have made significant contributions to the Bass Coast community;
• Have acted above and beyond the scope of their regular employment or duties;
• Be inspirational role models;
• Positively impact the lives of others; and
• Live within the Shire.

Nominees for Citizen of the Year must be aged 25 years or over on 26 January, 2022 and nominees for Young Citizen of the Year must be aged 16 to 24 years at 26 January, 2022. Nominations must be for individuals, as those for multiple people cannot be considered.

For more information, visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/ausday2022, or contact Linda Ryan via email at linda.ryan@basscoast.vic.gov.au, or phone 1300 BCOAST (226 278) or (03) 5671 2211.