Our Citizen of the Year will be a familiar face to many, a cornerstone of the community in Millgrove. 

At 77 years old, Maureen Halit has a tremendous resume of engaging with and serving her community.  

Maureen has volunteered for more than 20 years, and been involved in her community for more than five decades, leading Millgrove Residents Action Group (MRAG), for the last 20 years.  

During her time at MRAG, she’s overseen Millgrove’s third Community Plan, Resilience Plan and a Future Vision Plan for Millgrove; she’s developed close relationships with other community leaders and helped to coordinate efforts for the betterment of her town. 

She works with Council, mentors other groups, contributes to the Yarra Ranges Township Group Network and Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee, has successfully applied for grants for local projects and advocated for all-ability access throughout the town. 

MRAG was the recipient of the Yarra Ranges Community Group of the Year award in 2024, which is testament to Maureen’s work in leading the group and organising community projects. 

Her nominator said that “Maureen is an inspiration and a champion for Millgrove. She is selfless, ego-less, caring, considerate and inclusive of everyone. The first one to offer a helping hand. Maureen is a great leader, and leads by example.”  

This year, Maureen has been implementing resilience projects, helping to develop the Community Plan for 2025-30 and guiding MRAG into its 20th year. 

On behalf of Council and the wider community, I would like to congratulate Maureen Halit as our Citizen of the Year.

Jarvis is a dedicated environmental volunteer, who has been instrumental in supporting a community nursery. 

A student in a Diploma of Conservation and Ecosystem Management, he volunteers at Candlebark Community Nursery every day that it is open. With Candlebark facing financial difficulties last year, Jarvis was one of the first volunteers to collaborate with leaders and the new management committee to get the nursery back on track. 

Jarvis explores the Yarra Ranges to locate, record and identify rare and threatened plant species, so that they can be propagated at the nursery to prevent future species extinction. 

He has been heavily involved in opportunities for local plant reintroduction, including with the Banksia cunninhamii, Banksia marginata and Correa reflexa var reflexa. By undertaking targeted seed collection and propagation, the genetics of local species are being protected and supported to thrive. 

Jarvis also participates in bushland planting days with Council, helping to conserve and revegetate sensitive areas, including sections of the Warburton Rail Trail. He had the particular fulfillment of planting species that he himself collected the seeds for and helped to propagate, bring a full-circle of Jarvis’ environmental work to the region. 

Taking his passion to his personal life, his neighbour received a Melbourne Waterway grant to rehabilitate the waterway at the rear of their family’s home in Mooroolbark – Jarvis grew the plants and implemented the project that will enhance the environment for years to come. 

In the last 12 months, Jarvis has taken over management of all propagation activities at the nursery, supporting part-time staff. Despite a lack of experience in a similar role, Jarvis has floruished and hasn’t looked back since. 

His work to protect native species, support his local nursery and improve our local environment has made him a clear and fantastic recipient of the Young Citizen of the Year award. 

Sue Thompson has countless achievements from her life in the Yarra Ranges. 

A keen historian and volunteer, and a former local journalist, Sue was instrumental in the formation of the Lilydale Museum – now known as the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum – to ensure that local artefacts, photographs and items could be catalogued, maintained and preserved for future generations. 

She has published about 40 small history books, and the only website dedicated to Dame Nellie Melba, who has significant links to the Lilydale region and wider Yarra Ranges. 

Her work has resulted in buildings and street trees being included in Heritage Overlays, to ensure the history of the region perseveres.  

She was recognised for her work in October 2021, when she received the inaugural Jane Hansen award for History Advocacy. Since then, she has been working to ensure landmarks in local history – local olive and pine trees – be recognised for their heritage in the planning scheme. The olive tree, on Albert Hill Road, was one of the earliest plantings in Lilydale and symbolic for the region’s development with winemaking. 

Anyone who regularly attends Yarra Ranges Council meetings will have seen Sue’s work firsthand – she regularly makes submissions to Council on historical issues, participates in planning matters and she has served on advisory committees over many years. 

All-in-all, Sue has more than 40 years of historical work in the local region. Her influence on the region will live on for generations to come, and we all experience the benefits of her work, whether we know it or not. 

This year is the perfect time to recognise Sue’s work with this Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Harry has dedicated almost three decades of his life to volunteering his financial expertise to assist Caladenia Dementia Care in Mooroolbark. 

Joining in the 1990s, Harry has been an instrumental figure in the organisation’s direction and financial governance, bringing his experience as a financial planner, accountant and small business owner. 

For a community organisation working with extremely vulnerable community members, having sound financial management is surety for families, for staff and for the wider community that people who need help are getting it, and that the doors can remain open year on year. 

Harry helped play a major role in transitioning Caladenia from an incorporated association to a not-for-profit. 

His nominator said that Harry is a willing listener and supporter, a mentor and a trusted advisor whose calmness, thoughtfulness and sage wisdom have laid the groundwork for the organisation’s future.  

Now retired from the board, Harry has continued to offer fundraising support for the organisation – so from boardroom to Bunnings sausage sizzle, Harry has truly shown commitment to helping the community around him and, by extension, providing sound support for people experiencing dementia. 

Congratulations on everything you’ve done, Harry. 

At the beginning of 2024, Candlebark Community Nursery faced certain closure, due to a downturn in volunteer workforce and reduced finances. 

Debbie Shaw is one of the people squarely responsible for turning this tide, stepping in to ensure the nursery’s continued growth, success and certainty.  

A founding member, returning after 30 years, Debbie joined the committee at the start of 2024 and wasted no time in creating a positive culture and ushering in change. She is committed to transparency and communication, and has transformed the experience of volunteers at Candlebark, earning her kudos from her coworkers. 

Her expertise in environmental governance, business administration, propagating native plants and managing staff and volunteers has been instrumental to getting Candlebark back on the right track. 

She re-established community contacts with the business, and now Candlebark is a provider of local, native plants for Council’s Ribbons of Green, Healing in our Gardens and Gardens for Wildlife programs, directly benefitting the local environment, community members taking part and local fauna that will thrive with more native plants around.  

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She now has a goal of meeting a demand of 120,000 locally-native plants for revegetation and biodiversity works in 2025, which will have a tremendously positive impact on the environment. 

Debbie is an inspiration who has made 2024 a fantastic year for so many others, while helping support our spectacular natural environment. Congratulations on this award, Debbie. 

For well over 15 years, Holy Fools has been hosting community lunches, providing swags and blankets for people sleeping rough, offering information and a place to go for community members at risk of, and experiencing, homelessness. 

On a shoestring budget, Neal and his team work year-round to provide for people doing it tough, and to advocate on their behalf to levels of government, other services and to the wider community – appealing for understanding, compassion and resources to help some of the most vulnerable people in the community, all with a reminder that it’s all too easy for any of us to find ourselves without secure housing. 

Their nominator noted their work in opening a homelessness resource centre, which will open its doors in 2025 and will no doubt have a tremendously positive impact on community members sleeping rough – or at risk of homelessness – for many years to come. 

For their work over past years, and the work in opening a new centre this year, Holy Fools is a worthy recipient of the Community Group of the Year Award.

Eddie has been significantly involved in supporting his community in Montrose through the VicRoads Montrose Intersection Upgrade. 

He has worked hard to engage with the community and VicRoads, acting as a conduit for community information, building rapport with contractors, VicRoads representatives and community stakeholders, to ensure locals are across every bit of relevant information. 

Through the difficulties that a major project can pose on a community, Eddie has shown strength, leadership and grit, while balancing respect and compassion towards others doing it tough.  

A keen historian, Eddie has curated a dynamic history room in the Montrose Community Cottage with books, photos and memorabilia for the public to enjoy. He shares stories on his public Facebook page, created a guided history walk around town and has hosted history talks with the local library, with the most recent talk attracting more than 70 attendees. 

He is a CFA volunteer of more than 45 years, has contributed to the Resilience Committee and has established a broad network in the community through his work. He is known, he is trusted and he is liked. During the 2021 storms, he negotiated space at the Montrose CFA to set up a communications Centre, and his work spans so many facets of life in Montrose. 

The smoke alarm and fire preparedness signs in Montrose were initiatives of Eddie’s more than 20 years ago, as was the first Montrose Fire Brigade Open Day in 1984, which continues to this day. 

In the last year, Eddie has carried on this community engagement work during the Montrose Intersection Upgrade, and made countless contributions to the community. 

His nominator said, “I don’t believe there is a day that goes by when Eddie isn’t working on one (or many) tasks or projects to benefit our community.” 

A lifetime resident of Montrose, Eddie has truly dedicated himself to bettering his community. He is a local legend and a worthy recipient of the Ian De La Rue Award. Thank you for being an inspiring community leader.

Elizabeth is a keen volunteer, arranging weeding and planting groups in many different sites through Selby and Belgrave South. 

According to her nominator, it was her late life partner, the environmental activist and botanist, Darcy Duggan, who was a significant inspiration to Elizabeth to carry on keen and passionate environmental work. 

Elizabeth has organised regular working bees for volunteers to weed bushland sites and plant native plants. She works hard to preserve pockets of Indigenous bushland and is an inspiration to environmentalists in the Dandenong Ranges and the Belgrave area. 

Thank you for all the work you do, Elizabeth. We appreciate your work, as will the future generations who will benefit from this pristine natural environment.