2010 winners
Melburnian of the Year: Jim Stynes
Co-founder of the Reach Foundation and AFL great, Jim Stynes was named the Melburnian of the Year at the 2010 Melbourne Awards Gala Ceremony.
While Mr Stynes’ name is synonymous with his successful AFL career both on and off the football field, it’s his philanthropic endeavours that have earned him this prestigious award. Mr Stynes has devoted much of his life to helping adolescents, expanding this commitment in 1994 when he co-created Reach with film director Paul Currie.
Through Reach, Mr Stynes has made his mark on the lives of over 500,000 Victorian youths. Reach promotes mental health and wellbeing by supporting young people to develop skills such as resilience and emotional awareness. Its programs create a safe space for young people to develop trust, openness, and the freedom to express their concerns and realise they’re not alone.
Contribution to Melbourne's Environment
Corporation: Energy Matters
Energy Matters is one of Australia's largest companies solely dedicated to renewable energy.
Established in Melbourne, the company is devoted to reducing Melbourne’s CO2 emissions by converting home owners to solar energy and educating Australians and the rest of the world through its online information database and solar video workshops.
The company’s staff are passionate and proactive about sustainability at work and at home, and have recently formed a Sustainability Action Group with the purpose of introducing green office protocols and encouraging a sustainable and healthy staff environment.
By importing the world’s best solar equipment and developing its own state-of-the-art products, Energy Matters puts Melbourne on the global map as a solar energy leader.
Community Organisation: Conservation Volunteers Australia
Creating a better earth through volunteer conservation projects is the commitment of Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA).
By designing, developing and delivering its Better Earth conservation programs, CVA enables volunteers to participate in effective, well-managed projects that support the environmental sustainability of Victorian communities.
Operating about three projects per day year-round, the Better Earth natural restoration projects are delivered at various sites throughout Melbourne in conjunction with a range of community partners.
Under the guidance of a professional team leader, up to 10 community volunteers per group make significant contributions to the environment and their community through participation and connectedness.
Better Earth projects have the capacity to involve up to 110 volunteers each week throughout the year.
Individual: Ian Penrose
Ian Penrose helped form the Yarra Riverkeeper Association to protect and maintain the health of the Yarra River in 2004.
Appointed the first Yarra Riverkeeper, he acts as the association’s spokesperson and dedicates his time and effort to speaking up for Melbourne’s major waterway.
Over the last six years he has organised the first boat patrol along the Lower Yarra, guided on-water tours for community leaders and water authority staff, lead public education outings, provided input into government studies and policies and delivered presentations to schools, community groups, businesses and government authorities.
Ian is proud to contribute to the Yarra River’s wellbeing so it can be enjoyed by current and future Melburnians.
Contribution to Melbourne’s Community
Corporation: Victoria State Emergency Service – Central Region Volunteers
The Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) is the agency responsible for emergencies such as floods and storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, general rescue and road rescue in certain locations.
VICSES is also a total emergency management organisation that incorporates all phases of an emergency including preparedness, response and recovery.
Through its FloodSafe and StormSafe Community Education programs, VICSES helps prepare communities for flood or storm events.
In addition to donating their time to respond to emergencies, over 1,450 VICSES volunteers in central Melbourne attend a variety of community events and provide valuable information and advice on how people can be better prepared for emergencies. This commitment is shared by over 5,500 volunteers across Victoria.
Community Organisation: ‘Living Room’, Youth Projects
Youth Projects Living Room is the only primary health care service in Melbourne that specialises in supporting homeless and marginalised people.
Established in 2002, the Living Room provides a positive, inclusive space for disadvantaged Melburnians to gain support, free health care and the means to be socially engaged, active community members.
Successfully embracing an innovative, holistic model of support, the Living Room builds the capacity of individuals for whom the CBD is their home.
Collaborating with neighbours, local businesses and other community organisations, the Living Room tries to build understanding around the challenges faced by homeless people and make Melbourne a safe, welcoming and tolerant city.
Youth Projects is proud to work above and beyond its funding requirements to ensure no client is left unsupported.
Individual: Betty Amsden OAM
Miss Betty Amsden OAM exemplifies the generous, involved philanthropist. Her contribution to the community, and especially to the arts, is truly inspiring.
Betty has been a loyal patron of the Arts Centre, donating more than $500,000 since it opened over two decades ago. Most recently, she made the largest single gift by an individual to the performing arts in Australia when she pledged an astonishing $5 million to establish the Betty Amsden Arts Education Endowment for Children.
In addition to her work with the Arts Centre, Betty devotes her time and energy to other arts organisations including the Australian Ballet School and Orchestra Victoria, as well as assists the development of emerging arts leaders.
Contribution to Melbourne’s Profile
Corporation: ‘Australian Open 2010’, Tennis Australia
Combining thrilling tennis with premium entertainment, technology and facilities, the Australian Open is one of the most watched and loved sporting events in the world.
Thousands of people flock to Melbourne Park each year, and millions of fans watch the action live on television. Players say it’s their favourite tournament of the year.
The event celebrates Melbourne’s and Australia’s iconic connection with the outdoors and embodies everything we love about tennis – passion, excitement, courage and fair play.
In 2010, the event attracted 653,860 people, smashing the previous record set in 2008 by almost 50,000 fans. Over a four-day period last year 109,798 fans also attended the live site at Federation Square.
Community Organisation: ‘Melbourne Cup Carnival’, Victoria Racing Club
The Melbourne Cup Carnival is the celebration that stops a nation and puts Melbourne firmly on the international events calendar.
Hosted annually by the Victorian Racing Club (VRC), the Melbourne Cup Carnival encapsulates the spirit of Melbourne and showcases the best of what the city has to offer in terms of food, wine, sport, business, social interaction and fashion.
The pinnacle of the four-day event is the Emirates Melbourne Cup, one of the world’s richest and most exciting horse races.
In 2009, the carnival attracted 390,000 people, including 34,260 interstate and international visitors, outstripping attendance figures for any of the city’s other annual events. It also recorded a gross economic benefit of $344 million to the Victorian economy.
Through the VRC’s strategic direction, the Melbourne Cup Carnival shows the world why Melbourne is a national and international draw card.
Individual: Jenny Davies
Jenny Davies first started researching the 100-year history of Flinders Street Station in 2007.
Since then she has not only written a fascinating book but distributed and marketed it herself, spoken at number of events and organised several exhibitions and tours.
Entitled Beyond the Façade, the book was launched in December 2009 at Federation Square and tells the story of the station and its contribution to the social and cultural history of Melbourne.
In less than a year sales have exceeded 1,700, and copies of the book have been mailed throughout Australia and overseas. A reprint was recently arranged in conjunction with a limited, hard case, centenary edition.
Jenny also supports calls by community groups and the Centre for Adult Education for the station’s refurbishment and its return to public use, in line with the purposes for which it was built.
Notes
The 2010 Melbourne Awards winners were judged by a panel of 40 independent honorary judges who are highly experienced and respected in their fields and come from all walks of life.
The Award recipients were selected across three categories – community, profile and environment – and range from an environmental lobbyist and locally based community groups to successful Melbourne businesses and large scale international events.
The Melburnian of the Year is selected by an independent panel of judges, made up of notable Melbourne individuals from a broad range of business and community sectors. The winner must be an inspirational role model who has made an outstanding contribution to the city in their chosen field, as well as contributed significantly to the Melbourne community.