2019 Australia Day Award winners announced

Mr Rogojkin, who has spent more than 10 years volunteering for the State Emergency Service (SES) and helping residents in times of need, was presented with the Fairfield City community’s top Australia Day honour today. 

He has been involved in rescues and is responsible for SES trucks and boats and maintaining equipment. He also volunteers for community events such as Buddhist and Chinese New Year, Fairfield Trolley Drive and Christmas Carols in Horsley Park.

Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone presented four major awards to outstanding community members at the annual Australia Day Community Awards ceremony today at Prairiewood Leisure Centre.

The winners were: 

• Grigory Rogojkin – Fairfield Citizen of The Year 

• Angelique Cavanaugh – Young Citizen of The Year 

• Joe Farrugia – Volunteer of The Year, and 

• Daniel Harrison – Sports Achiever of the Year 

Also recognised were medallion and certificate recipients in recognition of their contribution to the community.

• Citizen of the Year Medallion recipient; Frank Tedesco.

• Citizen of the Year Certificate recipients; Jeff Singh, Angela Stansfield, Milan Maksimovic, Kevin Lam and Maria Silvestri. 

• Young Citizen of the Year Medallion recipients; Abnob Putros and Terence To’omata. 

• Young Citizen of the Year Certificate recipients; Danice Kim, Jeffrey La, Penny Nguyen and Anthony Nguyen. 

• Volunteer of the Year Medallion recipients; Martin Ratcliff and Mirna Makko. 

• Volunteer of the Year Certificate recipients; Kath Warburton, Matthew Tran, Mirza Joseph, Paul Huy Nguyen, Yin Lan Ge and Allan Lucas. 

• Sports Achiever of the Year Medallion recipients; Alice Lee and Tara Warner.

• Sports Achiever of the Year Certificate recipients; Larry Muagututia, Mereanna Peyroux, Nenad Vekic, Simun Milicevic, Sione Taufui and Valeli Tonga.

Mayor Carbone said the Australia Day Community Awards are held each year to recognise and pay tribute to all those dedicating their time and efforts into making Fairfield City a better community for all. 

“Their dedication and commitment should be an example to us all,’ he said. 

“Our winners often go about their business quietly, but I’d like to publicly thank all these community achievers, and recognise their tireless efforts on our special national day. 

“I congratulate Grigory Rogojkin, Angelique Cavanaugh, Joe Farrugia and Daniel Harrison on their wonderful achievements.” 

2019 Citizen of the Year: Grigory Rogojkin 

Grigory has volunteered for the State Emergency Service (SES) throughout Fairfield City for more than 10 years. He is responsible for SES trucks and boats and maintaining equipment. He also assists with motor vehicle accidents, has helped stranded drivers who drove through floodwaters and helped locate missing people.

He also volunteers for community events such as the Buddhist and Chinese New Year events, Fairfield Trolley Drive and Carols in Horsley Park and volunteers at the Fairfield City Museum and Gallery as the blacksmith every Thursday.

2019 Young Citizen of the Year: Angelique Cavanaugh 

Angelique has led, organised and taken part in local charity events including World’s Greatest Shave, Red Shield Appeal, Newleaf food drive, Jersey Day, Relay for Life and 40 Hour Famine to raise money. 

She was a member of her school’s Youth Mental Health Advisory Committee, a recent member of the Fairfield City Youth Advisory Committee, and a member of the Fairfield Art Advisory Committee and has assisted with the Cabramatta Moon Festival and Bring It On! Festival as a volunteer. 

2019 Volunteer of the Year: Joe Farrugia  

Joe is a founding member and current president of Western Sydney Cycling Network. The network is a group of volunteers that reconditions bicycles for the community, putting them back into the community rather than in land fill. They also undertake communal rides where participants can socialise and get fit. Joe also spends many hours teaching school children within the Fairfield City area how to ride and he organises rides including charity rides for cycling events such as Gear Up Girl and Spring Cycle run. 

2019 Sports Achiever of the Year: Daniel Harrison 

In 2017-2018 Daniel played in the Mounties Men’s 1st Division Softball team finishing runners up. He was selected in the U19 NSW Men’s Softball Team and also in the U23 NSW Men’s Team to compete at the National Softball Championship where he was named in the All-Tournament Team as Third Base. He has been named as a reserve for the Australian Junior Men’s Team. Daniel also helps coach younger players, willing to share his experience and expertise.