Janelle Ireland of Tullibigeal was the recipient of the Lachlan Shire Citizen of the Year Award.
Below is her summary that was read at the presentation.
For the past 2 years Janelle has made it her mission to finish what the late Elaine Bendall had started which is bring the old Bedford fire truck to life and put it on display for all to see with its history attached. This has taken a lot of ringing around, trying to find someone who could do a physical restore of the vehicle within the budget they had been given.
She has given up her personal time to help get the truck to places it need to go along side Doug Turiff. She has spent plenty of hours checking in with mechanics, panel beaters, council representatives, local groups to make sure everyone is looked after, and things are rolling along smoothly. If it wasn’t for Janelle, the project probably would’ve been pushed aside.
Janelle always goes out of her way to help the ladies at the CWA when they need
her to, doing more than she needs to. Janelle organises and run the annual ANZAC Day Ceremony and donates her time to work as treasurer at the Tullibigeal progress association and Tullibigeal Crown Lands.
She also assisted with seats at the Tullibigeal cemetery which was a project Elaine Bendall was passionate about. Janelle is a giving person asking for nothing in return and that embodies the Australian culture.