October 29, 2009
Tamworth will play host to more than 300 visitors this weekend for the state Tidy Towns awards presentations.
The NSW Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards will begin from Friday and includes barbecues, picnics, town tours and an afternoon awards presentation and gala awards dinner.
About 300 people from some 65 different towns and local Tidy Town committees and sponsor and political leaders will be in Tamworth for the event. They represent the 98 towns and 230 category entries received in this year’s awards.
Another 50 or 60 regional community volunteers and members and council personnel from Tamworth Regional Council will also join the awards activities.
As the current state winner of the overall award last year, Tamworth hosts the event this weekend but is also listed among the finalists vying for more honours.
Keep Australia Beautiful NSW says some 57 finalists will be recognised in one or more of six categories to be announced on Saturday.
KAB’s CEO Peter McLean says the weekend will also give Tamworth the opportunity to showcase its winning ways to other Tidy Town supporters.
“The Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards Weekend represents the best of the best and is a fantastic opportunity to learn from other participants and build important networks around rural NSW,” Mr McLean said.
“And of course it’s a great chance to visit Tamworth which has been so successful at both a State and National level being named the current Overall State and Australian Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Winner.”
Tamworth Mayor James Treloar says the awards weekend is a testament of the huge and magnificent civic pride that so many volunteers show for Tamworth.
Councillor Treloar says the event will be a tribute to the Tidy Towns members and all those supporters of community groups and committees who work so hard to get things done to make their neighbourhoods better.
And about 300 people will see at first hand the work they do – they’re booked on three tours on Saturday, taking in some of the top spots in Tamworth which have figured in awards wins, including AELEC, the Forest Rd landfill, Botanic Gardens, Tamworth’s top Golden Guitar and country music tourist spots, and some of its favourite historical and heritage places of significance.
Sydney’s 2SM radio presenter Grant Goldman is the MC for the awards dinner which will be broadcast live across NSW. Special guests include Associate Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, author of “Volunteering: Why we can’t survive without it’ and the Hon. Graham West MP, Minister for Volunteering.
Other notable guests include: Tony Windsor Federal MP for England, Peter Draper Member for Tamworth, Mayor of Tamworth Cr James Treloar, Peter McLean CEO Keep Australia Beautiful NSW, partners, directors and a range of council members, and community groups from across NSW.
The categories are:
- Country Energy Bush Spirit Award
- Grundfos Water Conservation Award
- Heritage Branch Cultural Heritage Award
- Packaging Stewardship Forum Waste Management and Litter Reduction Award
- Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW Wildlife Corridors and Habitats Conservation Award
- Schools Environment Award
Mr McLean said 98 towns and 230 category entries throughout NSW had been comprehensively assessed for this year’s awards. This was followed by a secondary judging panel and statistical analysis to achieve the awards results.
The awards registration is at the Tamworth Community Centre on Friday with a civic welcome at West Leagues Blazes that night. A picnic lunch is being held in Bicentennial Park on Saturday before the afternoon awards in the Capitol Theatre. The awards dinner is being held in the Town Hall. A barbecue breakfast on Sunday in Anzac Park will close off the weekend.