ONE of the driving forces behind Rotary Frankston Peninsula 2.0 Club has been named the Frankston citizen of the year.
Trudy Poole won the citizen of the year award at a ceremony on 26 January. She is the treasurer of Rotary Frankston Peninsula 2.0 Club, and was also one of its founders.
Ms Poole was selected for the honour in part because of her volunteer work finding accommodation for people experiencing homelessness, and her work on the Birth Tree project at Montague Park.
Ms Poole said she was “humbled to receive the award, which I accept on behalf of all volunteers who put so much time and effort into our Frankston community to make it a wonderful place to live.”
“I get pleasure from making a difference to people’s lives. It’s infectious – if you are kind to someone and show them compassion, then that can make them feel good about themselves and go on and encourage them to help others,” she said. “I would like to thank my husband, Russell. We are a team and he has provided major support for my volunteering efforts over the years.”
Erminio Rossetto was awarded the honour of 2022 senior citizen of the year for his volunteer work with the Kananook Creek Association and Long Island Tennis Club. Frankston High School student Bethany Yeuong was named Frankston’s 2022 young citizen of the year.
A “special community award” was also handed out this year. Peninsula Health frontline workers were recognised for their tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peninsula Health’s Chief Executive, Felicity Topp, accepted the award. She said “our nurses and midwives have done an outstanding job continuing to provide an exceptional level of care to our patients under incredibly challenging circumstances. This award shows how thankful our community is for the enormous effort our nurses and midwives have put in throughout the past year and it is wonderful to have them recognised in this way.”
