Sean Connelly named Gympie Citizen of Year for Australia Day 2024

Nine of Gympie’s shooting stars have been recognised for their achievements as hundreds braved drizzling rain and the occasional shower for Gympie’s Australia Day celebrations. See the full list of winners:

Volunteer and community advocate Sean Connelly has been named Gympie’s Citizen of the Year at the region’s 2024 Australia Day awards event.

Volunteer and community advocate Sean Connelly has been named Gympie’s Citizen of the Year, joining a group of nine people and organisations celebrated for their community work at Gympie’s Australia Day awards and ceremony.

Hundreds of residents turned out despite drizzling rain and the occasional shower to commemorate the winners’ achievements and welcome the region’s 40 newest citizens in a special ceremony in Memorial Park.

Mr Connelly’s award follows his extensive volunteer work with community groups including Bendigo Bank, The Salvation Army, and Country to Coast Queensland.

“Sean is passionate about helping others in our community and this is one of the primary reasons why he was awarded Citizen of the Year,” Mayor Glen Hartwig said.

Sienna Arthur was named Young Citizen of the Year on the back of her volleyball achievements, work with the Rainbow Beach Surf Club, and her appointment as a school captain at Tin Can Bay State School.

Sienna Arthur was named Young Citizen of the Year.

Georgia Nugent and Savanna Stey were co-winners of the Sports Achievement Award.

Ms Nugent has been involved in several Special Olympics sports, including athletics, soccer, and gymnastics, and was recently selected to represent Australia at the World Games.

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Georgia Nugent was one of two winners of the Sports Achievement award. Picture: Tracey Devereaux

Ms Stey is a prominent air rifle and small-bore target shooter who represented Australia at the Oceania Championships.

The 2024 Creative Award was given to Mikaela Sima who runs her own wedding and event planning business, Moments by Mikaela.

Small-bore shooter Savanna Stey was the second winner of the Sports Achievement award.

Ms Sima has been involved with a number of groups including the Gympie Show and Gympie Music Muster.

Friends of Amamoor was named the Community Group of the Year for their work at the Mary Valley township, including its monthly Cheers and Beers event.

Michael Condon was given the Resilience Award for his ongoing work within the disability community.

Mikaela Sima won the Creative Award at Gympie’s 2024 Australia Day ceremony.

Cooloola BMX won Community Event of the Year for its work as host of the Queensland State BMX Championships in September 2023.

More than 950 riders converged in Gympie for the competition.

Community Organisation of the Year was awarded to the Glastonbury Hall and Recreation Association, a not-for-profit which has been part of the fabric of the community for more than a century.

Originally published as Sean Connelly named Gympie Citizen of Year for Australia Day 2024