Citizens of the Year

Our annual Citizen of the Year awards offer the perfect opportunity for us to salute and reward those residents who work hard supporting our local community while achieving success in their chosen fields. 

To submit nominations for  this year, download the Citizen of the Year nomination form

Our 2022 Citizen of the Year awards were awarded on Australia Day 2023, across four categories: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Sports Citizen of the Year and Arts and Culture Citizen of the Year.

Our 2022 Citizen of the Year award recipients were:

2022 Citizen of the Year — Keith Cox OAM

Keith is a Drummoyne resident and was a highly qualified nurse who dedicated 50 years of his life to patient care, mentoring cancer nurses, writing research papers and addressing medical conferences around the world. In 2007 Keith was awarded an OAM for his services to nursing and community volunteer work.

Keith remains involved with various fundraising committees and charitable organisations, and he volunteers in several capacities. Keith has provided expert care and comfort to countless people facing the unimaginable and is truly deserving of the City of Canada Bay 2022 Citizen of the Year award.

2022 Arts and Culture Citizen of the Year — Melle Smith-Haimona

Melle is an emerging Ngunnawal artist and mother of two. She has completed three art commissions for the City of Canada Bay this year, sharing Aboriginal artworks with our community and reflecting upon what it means to be a local Aboriginal woman and mother.

Growing up on Country in the City of Canada Bay, Melle has an intimate knowledge of our foreshore, parks and people. She is also passing on her knowledge of the Ngunnawal people and culture to her children to ensure they grow up knowing their traditions..

She successfully combines a diverse art practice with a strong and positive presence online. Particularly remarkable over the past year is her online art challenge which engaged many members of the community.

Melle has also worked on the The Drover’s Wife (2021) and supported this movie’s launch with artworks. She also has a thriving online art shop based from her Concord home.

2022 Young Citizen of the Year — Hannah Kiefer

Hannah is 17 year old student at Concord High School and has advanced significantly in the field of Taekwondo.

In the last two years Hannah has competed in national and international competitions. Some of her results include:

  • Gold medal at National Competition in 2021 and 2022
  • Bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria
  • Bronze and Silver medals in junior and senior divisions at the Oceania Championships in Tahiti.

Hannah teaches at Musa Taekwondo in Five Dock, inspiring local youth to take up the sport, not just for competition but also for personal development.

Hannah has significant achievements in the local, national and international space and sets a great example for her school community at Concord High and local youth in the area.

2022 Sports Citizen of the Year — Luca Tropiano

Luca began playing soccer at the age of 5 for Five Dock Football Club before playing for APIA Leichhardt for the following 8 years. He advanced to the Skills Acquisition Program then onto the National Premier League 1, always playing a year above his age group.

During these years, Luca was selected to play for NSW at the National Football Tournament in 2022 and for the NSW Football Talent Support Program. He won the Most Valuable Player Award at the Sydney International Cup at age 9, and then went on with his team to win the event in 2019. 

Luca is currently playing for the Western Sydney Wanderers Youth Team 2023 in the U16s at the age of 14. Luca was also part of the Nick Rizzo Academy United Kingdom Tour and has won several tournaments such as the Diamond Cup, Sydney International Cup and Futboltec Invitational. Luca has lived in the City of Canada Bay area for over 10 years and currently attends St Patrick's College in Strathfield where he received the 2022 Footballer of the Year Award for his school.

Citizen of the Year honour board

Year

Citizen

Young Citizen

Sports

Arts & Culture

2002

Lance Brooks

Sarah Hanania

Mark Byrnes

Keith Cowen OAM

2003

Dr Bruce Menzies

 

Ante Milicic

Frank Marjason

2004

Jack Nolan OAM

 

Michael McCann

Lois Michael OAM

2005

Betty Robertson OAM

 

John Hahn

Dr Eric Gross AM

2006

Ron Yeo OAM

Eric Knight

Declan Stacey

Ern McQuillan

2007

Justine Perkins

Kaiya Robertson and Joshua Heard

Craig Parry

Mirvac

2008

Alan Wright OAM

Patrick Massarani

Bradley Zalloua

Ashley Wing

2009

Warwick Williams

Vishaal Sharma

Carla Blancato

Terry Robinson

2010

Joe Di Giacomo

Chantelle Hayek

Alyssa Healy

Clare Hooper

2011

Mervyn Spencer

Bronwyn Poole

Olivia Price

Lydia Burjan

2012

Terry 'Tiger' Jones

Daniel Castagnoli 

Gerard Price OAM

Rusty Priest AM

2013 

Professor Robert Lusby AM 

Rosie O'Halloran 

Drummoyne U14 Girls Water Polo Team 

Kathryn Zerk 

2014

Marie Piccin

Melissa McKeon

John Coates AC

Yuehan Zhang

2015

Michael Hahn

Aly (Carmelein) Fernandez

Maximilian Brenner

Chris Castledine

2016

Jeanette O'Hara

Rose Cox

Tyler Martin

Brian Simmons

2017

Alice Kang

James King

Abbotsford Juniors Football Club U18s

Concord Garden Club

2018

Joseph Assaf AM

Daniel Kordy

Franco Parisi

Wendy Schmid

2019

Tom Galea

Doey Choi

Anne Burt

Paul Kapeleris

2020

Mary Jo McVeigh

William Wheeler

John Critchley

Nicky Apostolopoulos

2021

Ken Wright

Aiza and Abdullah Khurram (joint award)

Sabrina Barutha

Julie Peadon

2022

Keith Cox

Hannah Kiefer

Luca Tropiano

Melle Smith-Haimona