It was a night of celebration for those who often shy away from recognition.
The Shire of Harvey held its annual Community Awards Night at the Harvey Recreation and Cultural Centre on Thursday, honouring those who have put their heart and soul into their communities.
Six awards were handed out, recognising the service of five individuals and one organisation calling the Harvey region home.
The headline meritorious award was given to Marion Lofthouse for going above and beyond in her service of the Harvey community.
She has served as both the secretary and treasurer of the Harvey Mainstreet committee, helping ensure funding was secured for the murals on a Uduc Road supermarket and playing a key co-ordination role in the first two Harvey Harvest Festivals.
Ms Lofthouse was a key player in ensuring the Harvey Railway Station building was preserved and later successfully petition to turn it into a museum.
She has been a member of the Harvey Historical Society for 28 years and has served as the organisation’s president.
Cr Paul Beech told attendees Ms Lofthouse had been a “tireless community worker”, who played a key role in leading initiatives which made Harvey the town it is today.
“Her work and her enthusiasm has created long-term and lasting benefits for the greater community,” he said.
Ms Lofthouse said volunteering was in the town’s DNA.
“We just like to see things progress in Harvey and to get the progress, we’ve got out there and do the volunteer work — it’s not given to us on a plate,” she said.
“When I was a kid, everything was done by volunteers. . . and I felt you’ve got to give back.”
The appreciation award was shared between three local residents — Daryl Fishwick, Maureen Foss and Taarna Cam.
Mr Fishwick has been an active volunteer for more than 30 years.
He has been a member of both the Leschenault Bush Fire Brigade and the Eaton Australind Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service, receiving a National Emergency Medal in 2021 for his deployment to bushfires in New South Wales.
Mr Fishwick contributes heavily to community basketball in the Greater Bunbury area, helping out with refereeing, coaching and mentoring of young referees.
During the winter, he volunteers as a first aid officer and coach for junior football games.
Mr Fishwick said he did not see his commitments as volunteering.
“I just see it as following your passions,” he said.
“I have always enjoyed the fire brigade and I have always enjoyed my basketball. For me. . . it’s not a chore, it’s just something you like to do.”
He thanked his partner for supporting his work, noting the challenges that particularly come with being a vounteer firefighter.
“It’s very hard to wake up at one o’clock in the morning running outside, pulling up a pair pants, chucking a shirt on, going to a fire call and they don’t know when you’re coming home,” he said.
Ms Foss also volunteers her time between multiple positions.
She has provided music for mass in the Harvey Catholic parish for more than 30 years as both a choir singer and guitarist, while also mentoring young people in the community.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she provided the hymns during the parish’s weekly mass videos.
Alongside her church work, Ms Foss volunteers her time cooking meals for the Harvey Community Dinner with her husband John.
She said her interest in singing had taken her a long way.
“I’ve always loved singing and for more than 30 years I’ve actually been doing music at church and I just thank God for the gift of music,” she said.
Ms Foss noted the challenges which came with her other volunteer effort cooking meals for 100 people every fortnight.
“(It) is pretty daunting and sometimes it’s a bit stressful because we’re not used to cooking for 100 people or more, so I’m always scared that we’re not going to have enough food. . . but we always have do,” she said.
Ms Cam volunteers 15 hours a week to the Australind Swimming Club, supporting young local swimmers.
Along with 5.45am training at the Leschenault Leisure Centre, she facilitates strength training sessions for club members.
More recently, Ms Cam has been working on a Special Olympics program to allow swimmers with disabilities to train locally.
She described her passion for inclusiveness in swimming.
“I just love to see kids strive to be the best they can be,” Ms Cam said.
“When we moved down from Karratha, we joined the (club) and it’s become like a family to me and I love to see us succeeding — seeing the pictures of my swimmers, it means a lot.”
The youth award was given to Taya Larkman for her work within the Australind Swimming Club, where she mentors young swimmers.
She has been part of the Shire of Harvey’s Youth Collective strategy group since 2021 and also volunteers through Our Lady of Mercy College in Australind.
She thanked her parents for their support and Shire staff for helping the Youth Collective with projects.
The community group award went to Australind’s Lot 208 Youth Inc, which provides youth services within the Shire.
Originally opening as The Escape in 1998, it seeks to offer a safe and welcoming environment to young people with up to 60 members using the facility every Friday night.
Centre manager Avani Shah described it as a “proud moment” for the organisation.
She talked about her experience with Lot 208, which started as youth worker in 2010.
“Not only have I grown as a person working with them, I have seen them grow into young people, and when you meet those young adults who have been at the organisation 10 to 20 years back, you can see a vast difference in them,” she said.
Several dignitaries attended the event, including Murray-Wellington MLA Robyn Clarke on behalf of Premier Roger Cook, and Forrest MHR Nola Marino.