Local achievers recognised at Order of Liverpool Awards

Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller has congratulated the 13 recipients of this year’s Order of Liverpool Awards for their contributions to the City of Liverpool during a virtual ceremony streamed on Liverpool’s 210th birthday, Saturday 7 November 2020.

“Our annual Order of Liverpool Awards recognise remarkable people making our city a better place in which to live, work, study and visit,” Mayor Waller said.

“Our recipients have made great contributions across a diverse range of fields – from advancing Liverpool’s history, music and sporting achievements to providing essential support for those in need.”

The Order of Liverpool Awards were created in 1979 by former Mayor Noel Short. Each year Liverpool City Council recognises the achievements of local residents and the contributions they have made to enhance the quality of life within our city, in a voluntary capacity.

There are three categories of awards. The Companion of the Order of Liverpool is the most prestigious of the awards, followed by the Officer of the Order of Liverpool and the Member of the Order of Liverpool.

Allen Bull, James Heffernan and Silvio Marucci are the recipients of The Companion of the Order of Liverpool this year.

“Allen, James and Silvio have each made a fantastic contribution to our city through their extensive community and volunteer work,”

“For more than 50 years Allen and Silvio have each championed a range of initiatives to improve the lives of others, while James has helped lead the response to several significant flooding events and grow the local NSW SES unit to help improve community safety.

“Each of these men are heroes of their own accord and I thank them for their outstanding and ongoing contributions to our wonderful city.”

Full list of recipients:

Companion of the Order of Liverpool

Allen Bull Born in Liverpool, Allen has spent his life working for the community, particularly with young people as a gymnastics, basketball and swimming coach, and in various roles at the Liverpool YMCA. Allen served as NSW Diving Coach for 16 years, while also devoting much time to local community organisations. He has been a Meals On Wheels delivery driver since 1968, and has served on the Liverpool Meals On Wheels board for many years. Allen has also been involved with Liverpool Rotary Club, Liverpool Salvation Army, Denham Court Anglican Church and much more besides. In recent years, Allen has also become known for his work caring for Liverpool’s senior citizens.

James Heffernan James has served with the NSW SES Liverpool Unit since 2004 and is one of its longest-serving members. In 2013, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Unit Commander, providing consistent and reliable leadership during both operational and non-operational activity and acting as Unit Commander as required. James has acted as Incident Controller or as a member of the Incident Management Team during significant flooding events in 2015, 2016, 2019 and in February 2020. He has worked up to 16 hours a shift planning evacuations of flood-affected suburbs and responded to many significant storm and hail events – even as his own house was being severely damaged. With his assistance and under his direction, the NSW SES Liverpool Unit has grown from 25 to almost 70 members, helping make our community safer.

Silvio Marucci Silvio has been serving the community as a volunteer for more than 56 years. He has used his skills as an electrician and building project manager on a range of different projects, including the Scalabrini Village in Austral. He has sat on the Liverpool Catholic Club board, been a member of various All Saints Catholic Church parish committees and a longstanding member of the Liverpool Italian Federation, providing social interaction for newly arrived migrants. Silvio has fund-raised for community festivals, charities and local hospitals and was Chairman of Planning for the Liverpool Catholic Club’s Christmas Carols from 1990-2015.

Officer of the Order of Liverpool

Patricia Braden (Honorary) For more than 17 years, Patricia has been a member of the Liverpool Genealogy Society, helping out at the Society’s room at Liverpool Regional Museum on a weekly basis. Pat is a familiar face to those wanting to research their family history, helping them access information via Liverpool Library databases and the NSW State Archives. Completing a Diploma of Family History through the University of Tasmania gave Pat extra skills in the field which she has put to great use. In 2019, Pat worked closely with the Liverpool Regional Museum to create the exhibition Beyond The Tree, with her efforts credited for making the exhibition the success it was.

Nell Corliss Nell has been a Liverpool local for more than 50 years and first joined the Lioness Club of the City of Liverpool in March 1981. She has held a position on the Board of Directors almost every year since. She has been a volunteer with the Busby-Liverpool Hospital Auxiliary for many years, working on the Liverpool Hospital foyer stall two to three days a week. Nell also calls in regularly to see sick or elderly local residents to see if they need a hand with transport or shopping. In June 2020, Nell received the Lions Club International Appreciation Award for her service to the community

Amanda Crnkovic Amanda is currently President of the Liverpool City Brass Band, a position she has held since 2013, when she was just 21 years old. She has been bugler at the Bigge Park Anzac Day Dawn Service since 2008, also playing at services across Liverpool. Amanda has worked hard to encourage community participation with the Liverpool City Brass Band, promoting its activities across social media, offering free lessons and ensuring the band continues to perform at civic events across Liverpool. Amanda has preserved the traditions of the Liverpool Brass Band which was formed in 1883 and continues to play at Council functions, street parades, festivals and visits by dignitaries, and competes in the NSW and Australian Band Championships.

Atish Jain  An IT professional, Atish moved to Liverpool and immediately began sharing his expertise with community organisations such as seniors and social clubs as a guest lecturer and adviser on IT-related issues. He is currently Vice-President of The Lions Club of the City of Liverpool and has helped move the group’s activities online helping raise its profile considerably through its Facebook page. His activities with the Lions club are extensive, and include diabetes awareness campaigns, community barbecues, fundraising for bushfire relief and helping with food drives. Atish also works with a local IT business that has provided local high school students from schools such as Casula High School and All Saints Catholic Boys College with work experience and coaching in IT services.

Jenny McNevin (Honorary)  When Jenny’s son began playing rugby league and her daughter took up netball with Mounties Sports Sub Club teams, Jenny also got involved. Over 25 years she has been a player, coach and manager with netball teams, manager, secretary and treasurer for Mounties rugby league teams, and remains heavily involved with the club’s softball and women’s lawn bowls teams. She has helped with fundraising, promoting rugby league and driving players around when their parents were unavailable. Jenny now ferries around elderly women’s lawn bowls players who don’t drive. Jenny was elected to the Mounties board in 2014 and in 2018 became the Mounties Sports Director, a position she still holds.

David Millott In 1977 David joined Prestons Cricket Club as a junior player and has played with the club for the past 43 years. He became active with the club committee in 1984 and in 1985 became club secretary – a position he still holds today. David has been an active member of the Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Association and in 2011 took on the roles of Senior Vice President and Junior Records Officer, which he still holds today. David also has a strong record of achievement on the field, coaching 11 junior teams to premiership victory and playing in another 13 premiership winning teams.

Member of the Order of Liverpool

Pradeep Chavan  Pradeep is a Warwick Farm resident and very active member of the Hart Park Community Garden over more than seven years. The garden is located in a medium- to high-density housing area and the community garden was established in 2009 to build social cohesion and improve the community’s access to fresh produce. In 2016, Pradeep joined the community garden committee, working hard to save the garden from closure and advocating to Council for financial support to improve the garden. Pradeep is credited for saving the garden, creating new respect for the project and renewing a sense of community ownership of the space and widespread interest in contributing to it.

Amanda Moore  Amanda has been involved as a volunteer with the Hinchinbrook Hornets Junior Rugby League Football Club for 16 years and has two sons and three foster sons who have all played with the club. Over those years she has been manager, assistant secretary and, for the past three years, secretary of the club. She has overseen the formation of a women’s team (now a feeder club for the Wests Tigers senior women’s team) and helped facilitate the involvement in rugby league of children living with a disability. Amanda has secured sponsorships and is credited with keeping the Hinchinbrook Hornets JRLFC thriving during challenging times.

Peter Moore (Honorary)  Peter became Secretary of the Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Association in 2008 and in 2011 became President as well. He has worked tirelessly to promote the game, forming the Hoxton Park Tigers Cricket Club in 2017 and taking on coaching duties for one of their four teams. Peter has applied for and acquitted grants worth more than $160,000 since 2011, which has gone towards improving cricket facilities across the Liverpool LGA. He is a delegate to the Liverpool and Fairfield Sports Councils and President of the Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Association Umpires Association. Since 2013, Peter has been a life member of the Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Association.

Amar Singh (Honorary)  Currently President of the Liverpool Lions Club, Amar is the founding President of Turbans 4 Australia and has been volunteering since he was a teenager. The Casula resident has been involved with the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney. During this year’s bushfires crisis, Amar helped organise collections of bottled water for firefighters and made five trips down to the South Coast to distribute household supplies to victims. More recently, Amar has secured a $10,000 Multicultural NSW grant to purchase food items for those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic in the Liverpool area. Amar and Turbans 4 Australia have been busy throughout the pandemic, distributing food relief to those who need it most.