2024 Citizen of the Year: Srey Kang

Srey has given dedicated service to the local community through her volunteering and community work. She played a significant role in communicating about COVID-19 to the Khmer community in Fairfield City and South-West Sydney. She is known for her selflessness and has been a voice for the vulnerable. Srey is a palliative care nurse from Cabramatta West who would spend her lunch breaks  filming her own news bulletins and broadcasting live on Facebook. She provides cooked food and comforting support to people in need.

2024 Young Citizen of the Year: Erica Chau

Erica was awarded the NSW Youth Community Service Award 2023 recognising her service to the community. She has volunteered her time generously, through her volunteer work with Project Compassion, the Winter Appeal, Caritas, Big Sister and Share the Dignity program and the White Ribbon Appeal. Erica has also raised funds for the Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave and donated her own hair.

Erica has unwavering determination supporting and donating to various fundraising events and campaigns.

2024 Volunteer of the Year joint winners: Pearl Jameson and the Wetherill Park Crochet and Knitting Group

95 year old Pearl has been a Fairfield City resident for more than 70 years and has always been dedicated to serving the community. Over the years, Pearl has volunteered at local schools and raised money for Motor Neurone Disease by making crafts, jams and biscuits and selling them at various markets. She still attends Westacott Cottage weekly to sell her crafts with all profits raised being donated to charity. In her spare time, Pearl joins the Spinners and Weavers group, attends aged care facilities and schools demonstrating her craft skills and looks after her garden of flowers and home grown vegetables.

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The Wetherill Park Crochet and Knitting Group are a dedicated group who volunteer their time and effort to support the community. The group meets twice a month at Wetherill Park Library knitting teddies and donating them to hospitals, local ambulance, fire and rescue and community services that deal with children affected by trauma or stress. Since 2022, the knitting group have made 300 trauma teddies for the Australian Red Cross.

2024 Sports Achiever of the Year: Munib Smajic

Munib is an exceptional young athlete and student who attends Bossley Park High School and is part of the school’s highly regarded Talented Football Program.

He was recently selected to play for Sydney FC u18’s for the upcoming season at the age of 16 years. Munib is currently touring the UK and Ireland for the 2023 u16 Australian Schoolboys Squad.

2023 was a successful year for Munib being selected in the Australian Schoolboys Squad, Football NSW, NSW All Schools and Sydney FC u18s. 

Congratulations to the winners of our 2023 Fairfield City Australia Day Community Awards Diane Gorman, Neethu Siril, Khanh Van Mach and Luka Knezevic. Luka was unable to attend the ceremony as he was representing Australia in the Schoolboys Tour of England and Ireland, and Luka's mum accept his award on his behalf. We thank them for their wonderful achievements and for their dedication to making Fairfield City a better community for us all. 

2023 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - Diane Gorman  

Diane has given dedicated service to the local community through her volunteering and community work for 16 years with the Bicycle Re-cycling Program in the Fairfield Local Government Area with the Western Sydney Cycling Network. She has volunteered for the Spring Cycle, Gear Up Girl, Amy Gillette and Parra Power, all events to raise money for breast cancer, children with a disability and the heart foundation.

Diane spends her time helping out at the bicycle recycling shed to provide low-cost bikes to the community, teaching children how to ride, about safety and to prevent obesity through school programs and helps people return back to the workforce after head injuries through the Western Sydney Cycling Network bicycle recycling program scheme. 

2023 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Neethu Siril

Neethu is part of her school’s Student Representative Committee and has volunteered her time generously, through her volunteer work with the Youth Group, the Red Shield Appeal, the St Vincent De Paul centre at Mount Pritchard and as a Cathecist teacher. She was the 2022 Parish Leader for school. She has also volunteered her time to a reading program as a tutor for neighbouring primary students to develop their literacy and reading skills.

Neethu was awarded the Order of Australia and Youth Community Service award in 2022 recognising her service to the community.

2023 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Khanh Van Mach

Khanh makes significant contributions to helping disadvantaged groups, in particular children with a disability. Since 2008, he has volunteered as one of the chartered members for Special Children Services Centre and has volunteered in the Fairfield area for 10 years. He settled in the Fairfield Area as a Vietnamese refugee in 1980 and has been in contact with many families with special needs children from Vietnam living in Fairfield City.

In 2012, he began running special needs training classes helping countless residents and still runs these two hour sessions every fortnight. He educates new members on the importance of supporting children with a disability at an early stage. He gives people hope and encouragement during activity classes, at outings and through an educational program.

2023 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Luka Knezevic 

Luka is an exceptional young athlete and student who attends Bossley Park High School and is part of the school’s highly regarded Talented Football Program. He was recently signed for Marconi Stallions First Grade team for the 2022/2023 season at the age of 16 years. Luka has recently returned from the Australia Joeys (U17) camp held in Melbourne to prepare for the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers.

2022 was a successful year for Luka being selected in the Australian Schoolboys Squad, NSW All Schools and Sydney South West teams. 

2021 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Aleks Duricic

Bossley Park High School student Aleks Duricic has excelled at junior football over a number of years with Sydney FC. In late 2015, Aleks signed with the Sydney FC Academy and since then has continually been selected in squads including the premiership U16s, U18s and an age up in the U20s. 

2021 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade 

Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade made a significant contribution during the 2019-2020 bush fire season keeping our community safe. Tragically, the Horsley Park Deputy Captain Geoffrey Keaton and Firefighter Andrew O'Dwyer lost their lives fighting the fires. The Brigade also host important community events to provide information for residents to better prepare their homes and families for fires. 

2021 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Emily Khochaba

Emily has been a part of her school's Student Representative Committee since she was in Year 8 and enthusiastically takes part in numerous initiatives including the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal, Fairfield relay for Life, Christmas Trolley Drive and fundraisers such as the Bonnie's Support Services for Domestic Violence and Steptember. 

2021 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - Tom Murphy 

For the past 15 years, Tom Murphy has organised the trolley drive for Fairfield City Soup Kitchen to help feed the less fortunate. He has worked tirelessly for this cause, organising the food drives at schools, scouts, and others in the community to help. In 2020, despite COVID-19 and the inability to physically hold the event, Tom still organised for food donations to those in need. He has also helped with fund raising for Little Athletics Fairfield for many years by calling bingo numbers and has helped with Relay for Life fundraising in Fairfield City. 

2020 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - Andy Snook

Andy dedicates his time to helping local companion animals and their owners in our community. Of his own volition, Andy walks the local streets looking for lost pets, scanning their microchips and caring for the dog until the owner is found. He uses the opportunity to educate pet owners on desexing and microchipping.

2020 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Blanca Assunta Barrios

Blanca volunteers her time generously through her school and church. She is involved with Early Bird Reading sessions for a local primary school and helps set up activities at her school’s festivals both during and beyond school hours. She also volunteers for the catechist program at the local primary school and visits elderly residents during her school holidays.

2020 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Kath Whiteley

Kath is a founding member of Mounties from 1964 and life member. Over the past 47 years, she has dedicated her time to various Mounties sports including softball, cricket, netball, lawn bowls and ballroom dancing. She has also been involved with Liverpool City Netball Club for 57 years and is currently its president.

2020 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Douglas Draper

Douglas is a founding and life member of Western Sydney Cycling Network. He has volunteered his time recycling bikes, arranging ride events to raise funds for the Heart Foundation, breast cancer research and other charitable organisations. He is involved in programs to help prevent obesity in children and educates them in road safety.

2020 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Fabian Monge

Fabian is a football player who has excelled in the sport. He featured in the Wanderers Y-League campaign last season and was recently promoted to the Wanderers A-League team on a scholarship. Fabian won the National Youth League Player of the Year in 2019. He is also a current member of the Socceroos under 20's side.

2019 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - Grigory Rogojkin

Grigory Rogojkin has volunteered with the State Emergency Service as Duty Officer for more than 10 years. During his time in this role he has assisted in emergency response to natural disasters, helped locate missing people and aided the police. He also helps with community events and fundraising.

2019 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Angelique Cavanaugh

Angelique Cavanaugh is currently undertaking her Honours Degree in Fine Arts at the University of NSW. She is a member of the Fairfield Youth Advisory Committee. She actively participates in volunteer programs throughout Fairfield City such as Council’s Moon Festival and Bring It On! Festival, and was involved in Council’s Choosing Life Skills Youth Steering Committee in 2018, advocating for the needs of local young people.

2019 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Joseph Farrugia 

Joseph Farrugia is a founding member and current President of the Western Sydney Cycling Network. He leads weekly bike rides for members of the community and reconditions donated bikes and puts them back in to the community.

2019 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Daniel  Harrison 

Daniel Harrison has been playing softball since the age of four. In 2017-2018 Daniel played in the Mounties Men’s 1st Division Softball team, finishing runners up. In 2018 Daniel was selected for the runner-up U19 NSW Men’s Softball Team, and the U23 NSW Men’s Team to compete at the National Softball Championship in Brisbane, where he was named in the All-Tournament Team as Third Base. In the Australian Junior Men’s Softball Squad he was named as a reserve.

2018 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - Desmond Ettingshausen

Desmond Ettingshausen shared his love of athletics with many generations of children, encouraging them to be the best they can be through hard work.Through his many years of coaching children and young adults, Desmond taught them that no matter the level of performance they reach that with dedication towards training they can be rewarded with their own personal self-improvement.

2018 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Rowena Tran

Rowena was passionate about representing and advocating for the needs of young people and the local multicultural community. Rowena was a member of the Youth Advisory Council and Multicultural Advisory Committee, and represented Fairfield City at national conferences and consultations across the country.

2018 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Krystyna Whittaker 

Krystyna was a dedicated member of the St Vincent de Paul Society. She had volunteered in Fairfield City for more than 30 years. Krystyna dedicated her time to serving people in need in Fairfield City through visiting them in their homes and assisting with financial and material assistance. Krystyna made a real difference to the lives of people who are struggling or marginalised.

2018 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Simaima Taufa

Simaima was a talented rugby league player playing at the highest levels of competitive rugby league across the country. Simaima also volunteered her time to the community; running sports clinics and mentoring young people by using sport as a tool for leadership skills which they can apply in all areas of their lives.

2017 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - Roy Hilton 

Roy Hilton is an integral part of The Rotary Club of Wetherill Park. For more than 20 years, he has helped to ensure the club has continually run in a professional and rewarding manner and coordinated many fundraising events in that time. He has personally raised an outstanding amount of more than $500,000 over that time. He has also coordinated various community events including Carols at Horsley Park and the Annual Golf Day at Fairfield Golf Course.

2017 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Fadi Aluboodi 

Fadi Aluboodi is a young person who is involved as a volunteer in a number of organisations and initiatives, giving his time freely to improve our community. He is an active volunteer for the Salvation Army. He was involved in the Fairfield Relay for Life and recently became a White Ribbon Ambassador. He is also a member of Project-L.E.A.D. to form a network bringing together young leaders from various schools across NSW to collaborate for the benefit of their communities. He has been a member of the Fairfield Youth Advisory Committee since 2015 and volunteers at Summit Care Aged Care Facility and at events such as the Bring It On! Festival and Cabramatta Moon Festival.

2017 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Robert Ward 

Robert Ward is a founding member of the Western Sydney Cycling Network based in Fairfield City. He has volunteered continuously in the bicycle recycling program for 10 years and has been the Western Sydney Cycling Network’s media officer for five years. He is a qualified ride leader and bicycle coach and helps migrants, young people and refugees with bicycle ride education. In addition, he volunteers for the Flora Park, which he has done for 10 years, where he encourages people to look after our native plants. He also volunteers as a blacksmith at Fairfield Museum and Gallery.

2019 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Elisabeth Kidane

Elisabeth Kidane has placed in every competition she has taken part in since starting aerobics seven years ago. These competitions include State and national championships each year. Last year she competed at the Suzuki World Championships in Japan and she placed fifth in the world in her division. Her goal is to compete at the Suzuki World Championships this year and at the Youth Olympics next year.

2016 Fairfield City Citizen of the Year - George Edward (Ted) Wale 

George Edward Wale, commonly known as Ted, is 105-years old and has lived in Cabramatta since 1956. Ted is an artist who uses charcoal and pencil to sketch, or oil and water colour to paint. He has been a part of a number of exhibitions at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery. He is a life member of Fairfield City Art Society. Ted attended the first meeting of the society at Cabramatta High School about 1961 and has held all committee management positions. He has participated in art exhibitions throughout the local government area. In addition to his art, he is known as a handy man. He has made engines for Commonwealth aircraft during World War II and was also a part of team that installed the first computer at the University of Sydney. Today, these skills are used to fix electronic items for family and friends.

2016 Fairfield City Young Citizen of the Year - Anna Tang

Anna is 14 years old and attends Canley Vale High School. She has been Peer Support Leader in the Student Representative Council since 2013. She is the youngest president of Canley Vale Leo Club and has led more than 80 members and organises rosters for volunteers at barbecue fundraising and charity donations. Anna has volunteered at Council events such as Bring It On! Festival, the Cabramatta Moon Festival and Lunar New Year.

2016 Fairfield City Volunteer of the Year - Susan Fedorychyn

Susan became a foundation member of the Deer Bush Dog Club more than 40 years ago. With more than 180 members, it is the second-oldest dog training club in Western Sydney. Susan has been on the club’s committee for the past 20 years. Members say that without her constant support the club would not run. As a volunteer chief instructor, she organises the weekly obedience training classes and runs regular courses for club instructors. The club provides community services, training puppies and educating dog owners of the responsibility of having a healthy dog.

2016 Fairfield City Sports Achiever of the Year - Nicola Bolger

Nicola is midfielder for the national Matildas squad and the Sydney Football Club W-League. Now 22, the Greenfield Park resident has played football since the age of five for a number of clubs in the area, representing her school, State and country in various competitions. In addition to her training and playing commitments, Nicola spends time visiting local schools talking to students about good sportsmanship, values, respecting others and giving back to the community. She is also an ambassador for the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, helping to raise awareness about concussions in children’s sports.