Nominations open for Pride of Australia as we revisit inspiring previous winners

THEY are the people’s awards, honouring unsung heroes who touch our hearts and change our lives. As Pride of Australia nominations open, we revisit winners from previous years.

Luke Owens has been honoured for his work to tackle homelessness. Picture: Jay Town

THEY are the people’s awards, honouring unsung heroes who touch our hearts and change our lives.

Pride of Australia this year marks its tenth anniversary after sharing more than 19,000 stories of inspiring and selfless contributions.

From the amazing feats of Paralympians, to tough-as-boots kids and tireless charity workers, more than 550 Australians have been recognised.

The Herald Sun is urging readers to nominate people in their community for a 2014 Pride of Australia award.

News Corp Australia’s chief executive officer Julian Clarke said the awards have honoured people whose extraordinary acts of courage, dedication to helping others and commitment to what they believe in, have improved the lives of countless Australians.

“This year our metropolitan, regional and community papers will bring the inspiring stories of past and current Pride of Australia winners to our millions of readers, and appropriately recognise their significant contribution to making Australia a better place,’’ he said.

Today we revisit six of our favourite Pride of Australia winners and finds they are still making an enormous difference.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has backed the awards, saying each year they “surprise us’’ with stories of those who make Australia a better place.

“Amongst you are people who are at their best in the worst of times, some who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others, some who make courageous choices in times of peril,’’ he said.

Do you know a local legend? For full details and to nominate, visit heraldsun.com.au/prideofaustralia

Luke Owens has been honoured for his work to tackle homelessness. Picture: Jay Town

Luke Owens, 2013 Young Leader Medal in Victoria and nationally

MEETING a young girl who was sleeping in a tent with her mum first inspired Luke Owens to raise money for the homeless youth of Bendigo.

Now, the guitar-playing charity crusader has the whole of Australia in his sights.

The 21-year-old is embarking on a mission to take confronting social issues like homelessness into classrooms around the nation, to educate kids through words and music.

“Encouraging the next generation to be socially conscious is so important,’’ he says.

“Something special happens when you get kids standing up for others. If we can turn one person’s life around from sad to happy then that is what it is about.’’

Owens’ own social conscience was pricked three years ago during his first teaching placement in Bendigo.

One of the students, Catherine, 11, confided that she had been sleeping rough with her mum in a car, a caravan park and a tent, sparking an inspirational change of direction.

He deferred his teaching degree and raised $500,000 to set up Bendigo for Homeless Youth, earning a Victorian and national Young Leader medal for his efforts last year.

He’s now back at university and has a bigger goal, to establish non-for-profit organisation United for Change running fundraising concerts and school tours.

He recently handed over the reigns of Bendigo for Homeless Youth to focus on the new project which would tackle everything from suicide to domestic violence and homelessness.

The organisation was co-founded with the CEO of the Father Bob Maguire Foundation and he has also enlisted the help of The X Factor contestant Emmanuel Kelly.

He wants to officially launch in 2016 but is planning a concert in Bendigo in November.

“Hopefully with enough support we will one day have a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, I want it to be as big as the Big Day Out,’’ he says.

“It’s still very much in the early stages but we would focus on one issue every year.’’

As for Catherine, the girl who unknowingly sparked it all, he says her life has been transformed.

“When I last saw her she was very positive, and looked in good health, her and her mother were eventually found a home,’’ he says.

“She is vastly different compared to when I first saw her — she was malnourished and always sick because of the conditions they were living in.’’

Vicky Ruhr rallied the Kinglake community after the Black Saturday bushfires.

Vicki Ruhr, 2006 Community Spirit

VICKI Ruhr worked tirelessly to unite her community — but on Black Saturday, it was suddenly torn apart.

And it was then that her beloved town needed her the most.

The Kinglake mum, whose own home was turned to ashes, quit her job as a nurse and focused on helping the region recover.

She became one of the most prominent voices in fire-ravaged communities, standing up for what the people of Kinglake needed.

Mrs Ruhr is now working on a disaster resilient communities project to ensure the Yarra Ranges is prepared if a major disaster strikes again.

“It’s an all hazards approach, including storms, floods and heatwaves,’’ she says.

“If people can be more connected with their local community, get to know the neighbours a bit, share what resources they have on their property, we can all work together.’’

Beneath the surface, psychological scars from the impact of Black Saturday remain.

Strong winds this week have caused trees to fall, bringing bad memories flooding back for many survivors.

“Nerves are very frazzled with the wind, we suffer from varying degrees of trauma triggers,’’ she says.

“Once the wind starts, a number of people take off, they can’t stay here.

“Trees fell all over the place that night, and it brings it straight back.’’

Many residents still struggle with side effects including poor health, while others have been unable to even stay in Kinglake.

“But it appears a lot of people have started to begin to find direction in what their new lives are all about,’’ she says.

Paralympian Kelly Cartwright at VIS in Albert Park.

Kelly Cartwright, 25, 2008 Courage

SHE’s the glamorous golden girl of London’s Paralympic team who is no stranger to curveballs.

The first came at the age of 15 when cancer claimed her leg — the most recent, a blow to her dazzling running career.

Doctors have told sprint sensation Kelly Cartwright, 25, to take a break due to a persistent ankle injury.

But the girl from Geelong girl is determined to gun for gold in Rio, and has been quietly mastering a new sport.

She recently picked up a paddle and can be regularly found kayaking along the Yarra river before dawn.

It’s typical of the never-say-die attitude that saw her overcome an amputation to become a world champion.

“I’m determined to make it to Rio in 2016, whether it’s running or in the kayak,’’ says Cartwright.

“I had a long break from running but was told by doctors earlier this year that it wasn’t long enough.

“It hasn’t been easy but I have a great support network, and I want to still be able to walk by the time I’m 50.’’

Four years after earning the Courage medal, Cartwright won her biggest medals yet: gold in the long jump and silver in the 100m in London.

But it’s not just her athletic accomplishments that inspire.

She has become a role model for children with disabilities as part of her charity and motivational work, visiting those facing similar challenges to boost their confidence.

She was personally touched by the seven-year-old boy who also lost a leg to cancer, and shared his fears about life without a limb.

“I said to him, ‘Look at what I’ve been doing, I’ve still been able to run’, and he had the biggest smile on his face,’’ she recalls.

“I’ve found it’s the unknown that can be the hardest thing for children.

“He hadn’t had his prosthetic fitted yet so I showed him how to fit the leg on, how it works, and took my leg off in the loungeroom for him and his sister. I get asked to do that a lot.’’

She credits her own strength to a supportive family who remind her how much she has achieved.

And should anyone forget, they are permanently etched on her body in ink.

There’s ‘Gold 2012’ on her right arm, plus the date she summited Mount Kilimanjaro, and, no doubt, she’s eyed off a spot for ‘Rio 2016’.

Leading Sen-Constable Andrew Downes at Swan Hill South Kindergarten — his daughter was tragically killed at a pedestrian crossing.

Andrew Downes, 2012 Heroism

POLICE officer Andrew Downes will never forget the moment he attended a pedestrian fatality and discovered the victim was his six-year-old daughter.

It’s a painful memory he’s relieved a hundred times in road safety talks.

So he would have been forgiving for crashing in a heap when receiving the phone call every parent dreads about his second daughter.

Hannah, then 17, had been swinging on a rope on the Murray River when she slipped, crashed into a bank and broke her spine in December 2012.

“I’ll never forget the man at the hospital saying `She’ll be in a wheelchair and never walk again’,’’ he says.

“He put his arm around me and said `Sorry mate it doesn’t look good’.

“I thought can someone give me some good news for once?”

But the Leading Senior Constable dealt with the ordeal with the same stoicism he draws upon when sharing the story of Emily’s death with school students.

And despite the odds, Hannah did begin walking after four months of rehabilitation.

The Youth Resources Officer says winning the award galvanised and encouraged him to keep helping others.

Even this week he was, again, sharing the story of how he arrived at Emily’s accident scene five minutes after she was hit.

Does it ever get easier sharing her story? “No,’’ he says.

“Not a day goes by when I don’t think of Emily, especially when I am at home, playing the piano, in my quiet time.

“But these presentations go for 80 minutes and you can hear a pin drop. If you can engage 100-plus teens for that long, something must be getting through.’’

In recent years he has broadened his focus to include drug education, indigenous teens disengaged with school and youth who have fallen through the cracks.

“The kids I work with have so much potential but many are not taking advantage of it,’’ he says.

“There is a sense of great achievement if you can assist these young people. But they need to walk with you to get the most out of what the community is offering.’’

Maddy Parker runs a campaign to raise awareness for the syndrome that both she and her sister suffer from.

Maddy Parker, 2012 Child of Courage

SHE’S a cotton wool kid whose joints can dislocate by simply picking up a book, but Maddy Parker has little time for self-pity.

Rather, the sparky 11-year-old prefers to focus on fighting for a cure to help her little sister.

The pair both suffer a crippling condition called Ehlers Danlos syndrome, but Kayla, 8, is afflicted by more severe symptoms.

Maddy’s letter to the “world’’ to raise awareness for the connective tissue disorder won her a Child of Courage Medal in 2012, but she’s not resting on her laurels.

She’s since written to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, convinced the Premier Denis Napthine to raise an EDS flag outside Treasury Place, raised $13,000 to help sufferers and is pushing for a specialised clinic in Melbourne.

The inspirational youngster is now gaining international attention, and is an ambassador for EDS groups locally and in the US.

“The award kind of made me believe that I’m making a change in the world, and people are actually listening to me and learning about EDS,’’ she says.

“My little sister has it twice as bad as me, and I hate seeing her go through so much pain. She has twice as many dislocations as me.’’

Where Maddy’s own body lets her down, her brain more than compensates.

She’s just been accepted into an accelerated learning program for high school next year.

“I’d really like to become a vet and help animals,’’ she says.

Vanessa Robinson campaigned for gas heater safety after losing her two sons to carbon monoxide poisoining.

Vanessa Robinson, 2012 Courage

WAKING each day without her two sons never gets easier for Vanessa Robinson.

The pain is so acute, she can’t fathom ever being a mum again.

But her dedication to protecting others from carbon monoxide poisoning is unwavering, and she now hopes to spread the safety message further.

Through her courageous awareness campaign and TV ads, scores of Victorians now know that a faulty gas heater can kill.

But not only that — their minds travel to two boys Tyler, 6, and Chase, 8, taken by an odourless gas as they slept next to their mum.

Ms Robinson is working to expand awareness to other states and dreams of one day running The Chase and Tyler Foundation full-time.

“We are constantly getting people saying that they’ve had near misses or had carbon monoxide poisoning, I don’t think people realise how frequent it is,’’ she says.

“We are wanting to branch out to other state regulators and up the ante on campaigning.

“We are also looking to do a new ad with Energy Safe Victoria, bringing that message in a different way — we need to make sure people don’t get complacent.’’

The Shepparton resident has such a desire to help others, she enrolled in a course to become a grief counsellor this year.

But she put the study on hold as she battles through her own sorrow, and juggles work and charity commitments.

“It all got too much to do, I also help facilitate a bereavement group, ’’ she says.

“It is something I would like to get into in the future, when I am in the right frame of mind, but I still have a long way to go.’’

Do you know a local legend? Join us in recognising someone extraordinary in your community.

Nominate them online or in the paper from today, and share their story on Twitter and Facebook.

Medals will be awarded in ten categories including Courage, Heroism, Outstanding Bravery and Environment.

Nominations close on Tuesday, July 29 and state finalists will be announced in the Sunday Herald Sun on September 28.

Category winners for each state will be honoured in a state medal ceremony on October 5, and will be eligible to take home the national award in their category at a ceremony in Sydney later in the year.

For full details and to nominate, go to www.heraldsun.com.au/prideofaustralia.

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