Sat. Nov 16th, 2024

Armidale Regional Council (ARC) kicked off Youth Week on Thursday with a morning tea and the reactivation of the region’s Youth Awards.

To kick off Youth Week 2024, the Youth Awards were handed out by ARC Mayor Sam Coupland to very deserving individuals.

“I am very proud of the calibre of entrants in this year’s Youth Awards,” said Mayor Coupland.

“It is great to be able to acknowledge the amazing talents and achievements of our regional young people and I want to congratulate everyone who nominated for the awards.

“It must have been a very hard decision to choose the winners from such a high calibre of entrants and I was glad I wasn’t one of the judges and had to make that decision!”

Eight Youth Awards were handed out along with two Highly Commended Awards and two awards from Zonta. Winners received a certificate, trophy, Big Chill tickets and a gift card.

Award winners included:

  • Volunteerism – Tykeisha Collins
  • Personal Growth and Resilience – Luke Weighell
  • Leadership and Community Services – Sophia Rose Markham
  • Arts and Creativity – India Smith
  • Sports Achievement – Jake McCann
  • Innovation and technology – Jackson Taylor
  • Environment Stewardship – Anna Gooley
  • Social Advocacy – Mary Paul
  • Highly Commended: Oscar Gates – Sports Achievement
  • Highly Commended: Catherine Edwards – Leadership and Community Service

Zonta Awards – Young Woman in Public Affairs

  • Anna Gooley
  • Sophia Rose Markham

Local school students and other young members of the community gathered at Town Hall to be entertained by local Indigenous performers from Mad Proppa Deadly before the ceremony.

Youth Week is a celebration held in early April each year that is organised by young people, for young people, in communities across the state.

For more information on local Youth Week activities in Armidale check Armidale Regional Council’s website 


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