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Woopi News - Australia Day Awards for Woopi Plantationers
For the past three years, the community at Plantations Lifestyle Resort has submitted nominations for Communitarian of the Year, which is announced on Australia Day.
Their name is then inscribed on a shield near the Club House Office. Residents’ nominations testify to special groups serving the Plantations community: those who help when neighbours are enduring ill health; those who share their manual and mechanical gifts by fixing things, maintaining things, putting furniture together, providing advice, and chauffeuring neighbours to and from appointments. Others help with gardening, watering, cleaning, shopping, administration and dog and cat sitting. Finally, some contribute to the community’s social well-being through organising and contributing to social functions.
This year’s Communitarian of the Year of 2023 and the two runners-up are members of all groups but are known for their contributions to song, music, raffles, social events and fun.
A resident presents a short Australia Day address before announcing the awards. Before he did so this year, those who coordinated the 15 activity groups at Plantations in 2023, such as bike club, community garden, snooker, choirs, craft, cards, aqua aerobics, port appreciation, mahjong,scrabble, table tennis, dancing, horseshoe, bocce and bowls, received boxes of chocolates and the warm applause of those gathered to celebrate Australia Day.
This year’s Australia Day address began with:
I want to begin by acknowledging three traditions that make this nation what it is.
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we live on and where we gather today, the Gumbaynggirr Indigenous nation. I pay my respects to these elders, past, present and emerging and thank them for their love of country and culture.
I acknowledge the Anglo-Celtic settler Australians of the Northern Beaches district – the pioneers - who came to make a new future for themselves, their families, and their descendants. I thank them for building the local economy and towns, introducing Christianity, the rule of law, democratic government, the arts, music, sport and community spirit.
I acknowledge immigrant Australians from around the world who have settled and worked in the Northern Beaches district, especially the Sikh and African communities who came to make a new future for themselves, their families, and their descendants. I thank them for their contributions to the economy, culture and community.
I look forward to the time when there is no need for referendums because the descendants of Indigenous, settler and immigrant Australians are proud of each other, proud of their heritage, proud of each other’s contribution and proud of their one unified Australian identity. Advance Australia all.
The presenter then shared extracts from the 2023 Plantations Communitarian of the Year’s resident nominations, using the number used by the Assessment Committee, who discuss allocated numbers assigned to nominations, not the names of nominees:
71’s ‘enthusiasm is infectious’. 71 is ‘inspirational, carrying everyone along with excitement and energy’ … ‘inviting all to join in’. 71 ‘exhibits patience, guidance and direction when organising, overseeing, or just participating in Plantation functions’. 71 ‘puts in a lot of time and effort’. 71 is about ‘work, love and thoughtfulness that 71 gives to the community’. 71 ‘constantly offers assistance to everyone, organises and runs many activities, cares for all residents and helps where 71 can, raises money for the needy, disadvantaged and charities.’ 71 is ‘highly respected by charity recipients’. 71 ‘has many other gifts and contributes them quietly and with dignity.’ 71 brings ‘joy to the community with song.’ Number 71 received the most nominations; some were of the highest quality. These nominations embody the spirit of service admired at Plantations.
The 2023 Plantations Communitarian of the Year is Scott Rodham, a longtime Northern Beaches resident and community volunteer at the Woolgoolga Red Cross and the Anglican Church. The presenter also acknowledged Scott’s wife, Keryn, who has been ill. She was a runner-up in last year’s Communitarian of the Year. Several nominations mentioned her as someone residents missed but wanted to be acknowledged on Australia Day. They wanted her to know that she was missed but not forgotten and that they looked forward to her being well again and contributing her talent and time to the Plantations community with her husband, Scott.
The runners-up were John Dwyer and Brian Conway. They contribute similarly, with different personalities, to the community’s social life. They
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