Borough trio named joint Eaglehawk Citizens of the Year 2023

The award recognises decades of leadership and service to local business, charity, sports, and the arts.

Nominations can come from anyone in the community and the award is presented by the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk.

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Mitchell Graham, 21, has been dedicated to serving the community since first playing badminton as a teenager.

In 2020, he became junior coordinator of the Eaglehawk Bendigo Badminton Association, where he's passionate to grow the game.

Meanwhile, his high school principal encouraged him to join Empowering Eaglehawk, a social enterprise which supports residents, businesses and offers grants.

He's now serving his third term as president, and said his main focus was bringing the group into a new era.

"It's a real honor to be sitting with alongside the ones who've been there since the beginning and bringing a new flair, new ideas, strategies and new ways of doing things," he said.

"I don't do this for recognition or to make me feel good, I make sure it's the community that benefits more than me, but I'm very humbled by the honor."

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He said he wants to see both the badminton association and Empowering Eaglehawk "flourishing in the 21st century rather than being in the past" and would love to see more younger members at both organisations.

A highlight for Mr Graham was the implementation of the This Is Eaglehawk campaign, in which he used his video and social media skills to promote local businesses in the community.

The young achiever is currently studying to be a primary school teacher, a role he hopes to bring a community aspect to, to help children flourish in and out of school.

Husband and wife Laurie and Mary Preston are the perfect role models for anyone passionate about supporting their community.

The two are both on the Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Festival committee, now known as Eaglehawk Festivals, have been involved at Eaglehawk Secondary College as parents and teachers, and serve in the local Rotary club and the Uniting Op Shop.

Ms Preston is treasurer of Empowering Eaglehawk, and Mr Preston is treasurer of the Eaglehawk Athletics Club.

Ms Preston said they were the driving force behind bringing the Energy Breakthrough, an event where students design and construct environmentally-friendly vehicles, to Eaglehawk Secondary College.

"We started up the energy breakthrough at Equal Secondary College back in the nineties with our younger son," she said. "We got roped into that but that's all right ... it's school stuff, it's education."

Mr Preston said the award was extra special considering his close friends and peers who had also received it.

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"It's an honor because when you think of your people like Brian Bourke, Brian Davey and Joyce Trimble and people who have got this award in the past, [they're] people who've contributed a lot to Eaglehawk," he said.

"It's good to be acknowledged with them because they're all part of the fabric of the people we're involved with."

They said it's good to see Mr Graham acknowledged for his efforts and echoed his call for more youth to be a part of the various organisations contributing to the Borough.

"It's been good to have these new people who aren't too sure about how to do things," Ms Preston said.

"They're younger, haven't been involved with organising things, [we] just encourage them to try it.

"We've got to hand over the baton at some stage, and so it's important for us to start mentoring people to sort of take it on and we are looking at that as we go."

Until they do pass over the baton, the pair are looking forward to this year's Dahlia and Arts Festival, to be held in March.

Mr Graham and Mr and Mrs Preston will all receive their awards at the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk Citizens of the Year Award Ceremony on Thursday, 26 January at Canterbury Gardens.

The free event starts at 8.30am with the return of the Rotary breakfast barbecue, with official proceedings from 9am.

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