Western Downs Australia Day: Chinchilla residents Robyn Haig and Lachlan Ries named Regional Citizen, Young Citizen of the Year

A passionate volunteer and talented all-rounder have received the region’s top honours for 2022. Meet the recipients and find out why they received the prestigious awards:

The incredible efforts of two Western Downs residents have been celebrated with the Citizen of the Year Awards unveiled as part of the region’s Australia Day celebrations.

Chinchilla’s Robyn Haig was named the region‘s Citizen of the Year on Wednesday, joining an impressive list of award winners for this year.

Ms Haig has been recognised for her passion for local business and the community and her instrumental role in driving forward some of Chinchilla‘s most successful community initiatives.

These include the Town Proud Buy Local campaign, Small Business Summit, Chinchilla BEST Group, and One Long Table Multicultural Food Festival.

Western Downs Citizen of the Year Robyn Haig. Photo/WDRC

Ms Haig said it was lovely to be recognised for something that brought so much personal satisfaction to her, and the achievement was a credit to all the great people she worked with.

“The contributions our volunteers and unpaid workers make is hugely valuable to what it’s like to live here, and they give so much to our communities,” Ms Haig said.

“The Western Downs is such an outcome-driven region. When we‘re organising something, the attitude is ‘let’s achieve something and get it done!’ rather than focusing on the setbacks.”

Western Downs Citizen of the Year Robyn Haig. Photo/WDRC

This year’s Young Citizen of the Year has been awarded to Chinchilla resident Lachlan Ries, who was recognised for excellence in a variety of chosen fields and his commitment to community advancement and innovation.

The former Chinchilla State High vice school captain and 2020 school dux, Mr Ries was recognised for demonstrating a desire to achieve and serve those around him.

His accomplishments also include Local and Regional Lions Youth of the Year, winner of the Australian Defence Force Future Innovators Award, and establishing his own drone technologies company in Chinchilla.

Mr Ries said he was very humbled by the award and loved being able to get out among the community for his first year out of school.

“Being appreciated and recognised just shows the strength of our community. A lot of people like to talk about the cities, but out here there is a real sense of community,” he said.

“It's just wonderful to see people of all ages and backgrounds getting recognition for trying new things and doing things a bit differently. You don’t get innovation if you don’t push barriers.”

Western Downs Young Citizen of the Year Lachlan Ries. Photo/WDRC

Mr Ries was unable to receive his award in person.

Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Paul McVeigh said it was fantastic to celebrate those special people in the community going above and beyond to make the Western Downs an even better place to live.

“Our Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year awards are about recognising the two individuals who stand out from the crowd and embody all it means to be a leader in our community, and Robyn and Lachlan are two extremely worthy recipients,“ Cr McVeigh said.

“It fills me with immense pride when I learn about all of the achievements of our regional and local award recipients and demonstrates that it really is the people that make it here on the Western Downs.“

Robyn and Lachlan lead a list of outstanding Local Award Winners, recognising incredible community efforts including Volunteer of the Year, Community Organisation Achievement, Sports Award, and Creative Arts Award.

You can find the full list of local award winners here.

Originally published as Western Downs Australia Day: Chinchilla residents Robyn Haig and Lachlan Ries named Regional Citizen, Young Citizen of the Year