THE Nambucca Valley community is warmly invited to come together this Sunday 25 January, for an afternoon of celebration and local pride at the Nambucca Valley Community Awards.
The free community event will be held at the Macksville Ex-Services Club, where residents will gather to welcome the Valley’s newest Australian citizens and celebrate those who have made a positive impact across the community throughout 2025.
The highlight of the afternoon will be the announcement of the 2026 Nambucca Valley Citizen of the Year.
Mayor Gary Lee said the awards will be especially memorable this year, featuring an impressive line-up of special guests.
“This Nambucca Valley Community Awards is going to be very special this year, with not one but three special guests in the line up,” he told News Of The Area.
Endurance swimmer and Australia Day Ambassador James Pittar will attend the event, alongside Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan and State Member for Oxley Michael Kemp.
Award winners will be announced across a range of categories, including Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Indigenous Citizen of the Year and several sports achievement awards.
The afternoon will also feature a Welcome to Country by Aunty Cheryl Donovan, with entertainment provided by the Nambucca District Band and local musician Barry Noble.
Proceedings will begin at 4pm, with the Nambucca District Band playing from 3.30pm.
From 4.15pm to 5.30pm, the citizenship ceremony will be held, followed by the presentation of the Nambucca Valley Community Awards.
The ceremonial cake cutting and further entertainment will take place from 5.30pm, before the event concludes at 6pm.
Australia Day Ambassador James Pittar brings an extraordinary story of resilience and achievement to the celebration.
Diagnosed at 16 with Retinitis Pigmentosa, James was legally blind by 21 and completely blind in his late twenties.
Refusing to let this define him, he represented Australia in swimming and rowing at international championships for athletes with disabilities before turning his focus to marathon swimming.
In 1998, inspired by legendary swimmer Des Renford, James became the first blind person to swim the English Channel, completing the crossing in nearly 14 hours.
He went on to conquer some of the world’s toughest open water swims, including the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, the Catalina Channel, Cook Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.
He became the first Australian to achieve the prestigious Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and completed swims on six continents within 925 days.
Beyond sport, James has raised more than $100,000 for The Fred Hollows Foundation, earning the Fred Hollows Foundation Helping Hand Award and recognition in the Guinness World Records for his role in the historic Bering Strait Relay.
He is also an ambassador for Rainbow Club Australia and shares his journey through his autobiography Blind Vision.
For James, being an Australia Day Ambassador is about celebrating courage, community and mateship; values that sit at the heart of the Nambucca Valley Community Awards.
The Nambucca Valley Community Awards are delivered by Nambucca Valley Council with assistance from the Nambucca Valley Community Awards Advisory Committee.
Residents are encouraged to come along, celebrate local achievements and be part of a community event that recognises the people who make the Nambucca Valley such a special place.
By Mick BIRTLES
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