Club Lennox and Twin Towns were among Northern Rivers clubs recognised at the Clubs & Community Awards, held last Thursday in Sydney.
According to a ClubsNSW media spokesperson, ‘The Northern Rivers dominated: Club Evans RSL (Vibrancy & Culture), Twin Towns (Heart of the Community) and Urbenville Bowling Club (Small Club, Big Heart) all took out their respective categories. Maclean Bowls Club was also highly commended in the Health Care category’.
- ‘Twin Towns took out the Heart of the Community category for its work in funding a new $296,000 refrigerated truck for Vibe Care Pantry, doubling its capacity to deliver essential food to 3,000 vulnerable local families amid a worsening homelessness and cost-of-living crisis.
- ‘Evans Head RSL won the Vibrancy & Culture award after bouncing back from near administration to become a cultural destination with a thriving music scene, attracting major artists like Thirsty Merc, The Whitlams and Lisa Hunt.
- ‘Urbenville Bowling Club won the Small Club, Big Heart award for its life-saving role in building/maintaining a helipad and upgrading an access road to aid emergency services’.
ClubsNSW said, ‘From supporting those escaping domestic violence to helping people facing homelessness and opening their doors as evacuation centres during floods, clubs across NSW have once again shown the varied ways in which they make their communities better places to live’.
‘Held at the ICC Sydney on Thursday, 11 June, more than 900 guests — including Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris, Minister for Industrial Relations, Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis, NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane and Shadow Minister for Hospitality and Gaming Kevin Anderson — were on hand to help honour the outstanding social contributions of the state’s clubs at the black-tie event, hosted by broadcaster Ben Fordham.
‘The winners and those highly commended were acknowledged across ten categories: Education; Emergency Response; Fostering Grassroots Sport; Health Care; Heart of the Community; Mental Wellbeing; Small Club, Big Heart; Social Inclusion; Sustainable Future; and Vibrancy & Culture’.
ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant said the Clubs & Community Awards underscore the extraordinary impact clubs are delivering in communities right across the state.
‘Clubs exist to make their communities better places to live, and that was clearly on show last night through the causes they’ve championed over the past year,’ said Ms Riant.
‘With an exceptionally strong field of candidates, the judges were faced with an incredibly difficult task, and I couldn’t be prouder of our industry as clubs continue to deliver support that is changing lives and strengthening communities across New South Wales.’
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