“There is greatness in everyone”: 2023 Australian of the Year Awards nominations are now open.
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Courage. Sacrifice. Kindness. Bravery. Generosity. Resilience. Determination. Inspiration. Humility. Selflessness. We all know someone who demonstrates these qualities.
But have you ever thought about nominating them for an Australian of the Year Award?
Now open for 2023, it only takes one nomination for someone to be in the running—and with a city full of outstanding candidates, there’s sure to be someone that you think deserves recognition.
Dedicating her life to helping others around Canberra, St John Ambulance volunteer Valmai (Val) Dempsey was named the 2022 Senior Australian of the Year, celebrating her work as one of the ACT’s longest-serving volunteers.
Honoured alongside athlete Dylan Alcott (who has led the change for people with a disability), as someone who knows firsthand the joy of being thanked for her work, Val believes the award changed her life for the better.
“I’ve always felt that when that door of opportunity is in your face, don’t just knock on it, break it down and jump through it, because it’s opened up the most marvelous world of being able to meet some incredibly decent people,” she says.
“This amazing opportunity for this year has allowed me to see so much more than just myself and my immediate local community. For that, I’m very grateful. My eyes have been wide open to the amount of good work that volunteers and community leaders are doing right across Australia.”
Recognised for her work tirelessly promoting and delivering emergency first aid training to help save lives (including a notable 600 hours of volunteering, leading first-aid training, and providing support at local events and activities in 2021 alone) it’s easy to see why Val was nominated for—and ultimately won—the 2022 Senior Australian of the Year Award.
But she says looking back at her experience, she didn’t expect that being a recipient would challenge her in the best way possible.
“It has challenged me to be a better person and to look past myself and to see the goodness in others. It has been an amazing opportunity to see past myself and see not just the goodness in other people but allow them to have a moment to be able to shine as well.”
With four categories to choose from—Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia’s Local Hero—the awards offer many ways to celebrate those who have gone above and beyond for the community, no matter their contribution.
Believing that many Australians “are worthy of recognition and yet they have so little opportunity to be able to be praised”, Val says that everyone has greatness in them—and no good act is too small.
“Across the board, there are so many silent people that go unrecognised for the greatness that they do,” she says.
“It’s the grandmothers looking after grandkids when the parents have gone, it’s the carers that stay home and take on their disabled children with so many limited resources in the country, it’s the women and men in the country who have to step forward and be so many things to so many different people…that’s what this celebrates.”
With nominations for the Australian of the Year Awards closing on 31 July, there are many areas of greatness to still be recognised. And that’s why these awards are so important.
“When we nominate for next year, it’s to remember that it is the greatness in each and every one of everybody that we stand to represent. So, nominate.”
Photography: Salty Dingo.
