Four Stratford citizens are being recognised for their dedication and hard work in the community.
On Tuesday, September 29, two of them will receive a Stratford Citizen's Award, one a Stratford Youth Citizen's Award and one an Outstanding Citizen Award at a ceremony at the Stratford District Council chambers.
Stratford District mayor Neil Volzke says they are all worthy recipients, reflecting the calibre of nominations received this year, as in previous years.
"We don't seem to run out of caring and community minded people here in the Stratford District."
The Stratford District Council Citizens Awards formally recognise individuals who give significant amounts of their time and energy to the community. This year's awards are being held slightly later than normal due to the disruption of Covid-19.
This year, Marianne Drummond and Barbara Reid will each receive a Stratford Citizen's Award, reflecting their years of service to a variety of community organisations, events, and groups.
They are joined by Leah Giblin, 17, who is this year's Stratford Youth Citizen's Award recipient and David (Dave) West, the Outstanding Citizen Award recipient.
The Outstanding Citizen Award was introduced in 2018 to recognise a person who has made an extra special contribution to the community, and is presented at the discretion of the selection panel. Neil says it has been awarded each year since it was introduced.
"The ability to award the Outstanding Citizen Award for another year, the third year in a row, further demonstrates the commitment of our community."
Neil says the award ceremony itself is always special.
"These awards are a real highlight for our community, it's an incredibly special time of the year, when we get to recognise our local champions."
The Stratford Press will run profiles of each of this year's recipients over the next couple of weeks.