Certificate of Merit Winners Announced
Three hard working and well-known locals have been recognised with the prestigious Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Community Service.
The Certificate of Merit awards members of the community who have contributed significantly to Port Pirie and the region, who have demonstrated a history of community involvement or have performed a single action of significance.
Port Pirie Regional Council would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the following deserving recipients of this year’s Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Community Service:
Wayne Lethbridge
Wayne has been contributing to the local Toy Run for many years, organising and distributing toy boxes and promoting the event in Port Pirie and local Mid North area. He is dedicated to helping people and improving lives in our community. He volunteers his time and has put in at least a 1000 plus hours over the years without asking for anything in return. Wayne is passionate and caring and has supported the vulnerable by working in the Disability sector for 20 years improving lives and going above and beyond his duties.
Earlier last year, Wayne was concerned for an employee who did not show for shift and out of concern he attended the employee’s home to do a welfare check, only to find this worker unconscious. Wayne called for help and in turn, saved this person’s life. Wayne’s concern for others is always placed before himself and he has dedicated to our community and our local region, putting in his own time while working full time.
Trevor Edwards
Trevor became a volunteer with Uniting Country SA in 2007 and has volunteered at the Port Pirie Community Centre ever since. Predominantly, Trevor has volunteered within the Tasty Tucker program, contributing around 390 hours each year. In addition to this, Trevor also collects donations of bread, fruit and vegetables from Woolworths four days a week, equating to approximately 180 hours per year.
Tasty Tucker is a program run by volunteers that provides low cost two-course meals to members of the community every Friday. When Tasty Tucker first began, the team were cooking on average 20 meals each week. Since the reintroduction of Tasty Tucker during COVID, Trevor and the team are producing up to 90 meals each Friday.
Trevor is passionate about his cooking and is always mindful of people’s needs and requirements. He will go above and beyond for anyone. Over the years Trevor’s reliability and commitment to volunteering for UCSA has been outstanding. He is always keen to offer his help and support when it comes to the other volunteers in the team. His service as a volunteer has hugely contributed to the organisation being able to offer a much-needed service within the local community.
Stephen Duffield
Stephen has supported the youth of Port Pirie through the Port Pirie Youth Theatre since 2016 as well as all adult theatre productions. This includes chairing the committee for Youth Theatre since 2017 where he organises events for the cast, creates sets which can be time-consuming and ensures everything behind the scenes runs smoothly, all the while running a business.
Stephen’s leadership and effort has encouraged people of all ages to take part in Youth Theatre, directing and supporting the future talent of our community.
Mayor Leon Stephens said this year’s Certificate of Merit recipients were very deserving of their honour and reflected the sense of pride and care that makes the Port Pirie region such a wonderful place.
“These three Certificate of Merit recipients are great examples of the hard work and effort that goes into making our community better and improving people’s lives. We are thankful to these special individuals for the many contributions they have made in our local community. I would like to congratulate them on being nominated and chosen as highly worthy award recipients,” said Mayor Stephens.
Wayne and Trevor’s Certificates were presented by Mayor Stephens and Deputy Mayor Kendall Jackson at the Port Pirie New Year’s Eve Party held at the Foreshore on Saturday 31 December 2022, while Stephen’s Certificate will be presented during the Crystal Brook Australia Day breakfast celebrations in Adelaide Square on Thursday 26 January 2023.