Citizen of the Year Award: Barry Sherwell

Barry has been an instrumental founding member of Ovingham Greening, which was founded in 2021 after Barry decided that he could no longer pass by an unkempt strip of land near the railway line without acting. Following this decision from Barry, he sought support from Council to create a bird, bee, and butterfly garden in Ovingham and invited his neighbours to a working bee, thus forming ‘Ovingham Greening’.

Barry is a friendly and well-respected member of not only the Ovingham community but the greater City of Charles Sturt community. He has been instrumental in leading working bees, liaising closely with council staff and Rail Care, engaging widely with Ovingham residents, and helping to foster a culture of inclusion and fun within the Ovingham Greening group.

Barry has previously been quoted in relation to his ethos for the success of Ovingham Greening as saying “Consult people. Involve people. Engage with people. Be inclusive. There is a place, and a purpose and role for all. Create partnerships, work with Council, connect with like-minded groups.”, values which Barry embodies in his every day life.

The efforts of Ovingham Greening have transformed patches of land to increase biodiversity, grow native and water resilient plants and connect and instil a sense of purpose and pride for Ovingham residents and volunteers. Ovingham Greening HQ is now a hub for not only a bird, bee and butterfly garden but also has gabion seats (to help passerby’s take a seat and reflect with nature), a native bee hotel (essential to protect and grow local native bee & insect populations) and “The Shack” (an information kiosk promoting gardening and environmental action).

Barry is also a volunteer at the new Bowden Brompton Repair Café, and he also assists in the local community when he can through other greening groups and creative public art ventures. Barry has also been formerly recognised as a a ‘Street Champion’ by the Port Adelaide Environment Centre.

Barry is always ready to greet local residents and visitors who volunteer with Ovingham Greening and is always organised with a to do list of working bees every month. He helps to distribute a local newsletter each month which talks about Ovingham Greening’s work, as well as promotes other local initiatives, including those supported by Council.

Senior Citizen of the Year Award: Denis Brien

For the past 70+ years, Denis has been involved with Cricket from playing to coaching to administration and back again. He’s coached at all levels across both male & female competitions, sitting on countless committees & sub-committees.

As well as serving time as Club President, Denis is the club Historian and current chair of the Life Members Committee. Denis also coordinated the Young Eagles Cricket Academies for 15 years, with 4 former academy players currently playing Men's 1st Class Cricket for SA, and two of his "discoveries" representing Australia in the recent under 19 T20 Women's World Cup.

Denis uses his skills and knowledge as a former teacher to handle all aspects of the academies, including promotion, recruitment, coordination to coaching. He has organised trial matches against other academies as well as promoting the game to the country cricket zones.

He has been a key driver of Women's cricket in Charles Sturt, chairing the clubs Women's Cricket Committee, coaching past State Teams, and winning National Championships. Denis' charter has always been to develop the total person, so they are prepared for life and cricket.

In 2018 Denis authored “All the Kings’ Men: A History of the Hindmarsh Cricket Club 1857-97” which won the Australian Cricket Society Literary Award for 2017-2018 (the Jack Pollard Trophy). Most recently in 2023, Denis won the Mayor’s Lifelong Contribution to Sport at the City of Charles Sturt’s Sports Awards.

Young Citizen of the Year Award: Kylan Beech

Following the loss of his mother, Tammy, to cancer at age 14, Kylan has made it his mission to help others avoid the same loss by supporting the Cancer Council.

In 2019, as a year 11 student, Kylan rode his bike 220km from Adelaide to Barmera to raise money and awareness for the Cancer Council. Enlisting the help of his older brothers, Kylan co-ordinated the event (named ‘220 for Tammy’), organised sponsors and held a dinner with music and auctions, raising $30,000.

In 2022, 20-year-old Kylan and his brothers completed a 2,220km ride from the Gold Coast to Adelaide for The Cancer Council. He organised a crew, videographer and media interviews and spread the word through social media.

At each stop, Kylan and his team spent the time to get to know the community, support local businesses and listen to those who sadly could recount similar stories as to the impact of cancer on them and their loved ones.

The two-week ride culminated in a huge fundraiser with entertainment. Later, Kylan showed a documentary about the ride, raising even more money. All up, Kylan’s selfless efforts have raised more than $100,000 for the Cancer Council.

Organising a ride of this distance is an enormous undertaking and shows not only Kylan’s tenacity in the face of challenges but his determination to give back to his community and raise funds for such an important cause.

In addition to his fundraising efforts, Kylan has also been a reliable volunteer for the St Vincent de Paul Society for many years and has actively engaged other young South Australians in creating awareness around poverty and homelessness. Kylan has recently started a ‘Vinnies Youth Conference’, informally called Fred’s Mates, which is a group committed to engaging more young people in volunteering to combat the ageing volunteer base.

As said by Kylan in the ‘220 for Tammy’ documentary, “you can try and do something by yourself, but you’re not going to get nearly as far as a whole community coming together to try and make a difference”.

Community Event / Group of the Year: Kats "N" Jammers

Kats "N" Jammers is a volunteer run music group for the local community that aims to foster the enjoyment of music through developing ukulele skills whilst having fun.

Run by Andrew and Karen Muir from the Seaton Park RSL, the group meets fortnightly with an average attendance of 60 plus members of the community from various age groups and demographics.

Members have stated that they are in awe of the professionalism of the group as well as the welcoming atmosphere for both recurring and new members.

Andrew and Karen work tirelessly to organise each session, not only putting together the set list for each fortnight but arranging the musical sheets for everyone and allowing the group to use their sound equipment. Each fortnight Andrew and Karen pack up their trailer with all the equipment needed for the day, drive to the Seaton Park RSL and unload and set up all the sound equipment. They provide musical leadership, with Karen arranging all the sound engineering and Andrew leading the playing and singing for the group.

Andrew and Karen, along with some of the other members, are often asked to play at other events within the Ukulele community. Andrew has run workshop sessions when asked, played with school groups, and runs free lessons at his home for anyone who wishes to learn.

Community music projects can provide a platform for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to come together and enjoy music-making. Community Groups such as Kats "N" Jammers provides our community with an opportunity to form friendships, bring people closer together and create a sense of belonging. As I am sure the members of Kats "N" Jammers would attest, through learning new skills, forming relationships, and having fun, community music groups can positively affect people's well-being and health.

Further to this, hosting the sessions at the Seaton Park RSL provides additional benefits to our community with participants taking out annual memberships and becoming patrons of the RSL, supporting one of our local establishments.

Thank you to everyone who nominated, attended today and all of our nominees. And a huge thank you to our award recipients for their time and dedication to the City of Charles Sturt community.