The City of Ryde Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year Awards recognise outstanding accomplishments by individuals in our community who have excelled in their chosen field. The awards are open to all Australian citizens living in the City of Ryde.

Citizen of the Year recognises outstanding service to the community over an extended period of time.

Young Citizen of the Year recognises outstanding service to the community over an extended period by a young person between the ages of 16 and 25.

The awards are held under the auspices of the Australia Day Council of NSW and and judging is conducted by a local selection panel. The awards are presented during the City of Ryde Australia Day celebrations.  

2013 Citizen of the Year

Jacques Baran 
Born in Syria and educated in Lebanon, Jacques Baran migrated to Australia with his family in 1985.

He brought with him a strong work ethic, a desire to assimilate and to celebrate his community and his Armenian heritage.

A successful career in top management also led to volunteering in Ryde where Mr Baran’s practical help and dedication to the value of the individual has helped the frail, aged and disabled as well as local families and many young people as well.

Between 1989 and 1991 he was Principal of the International College for Careers Training in Gladesville where he also assisting international students to study, live and work part- time in the Ryde area.

In the mid 1990s he started volunteering at the Armenian Alexander Nursing Home with administration assistance and interpreting. He regularly visited the nursing home residents as well, provided practical help as well as emotional and social support.

Since 2011, Jacques Baran has devoted an average of seven hours a day as a volunteer with North Ryde Community Aid in the social support services unit.

While the support he provides is of a practical nature, such as driving clients to attend medical appointments, and making sure that everything runs smoothly at the Armenian Senior Citizens social Group, it is his genuine caring and pleasant manner that earns him the respect and admiration of all he comes into contact with.

2013 Young Citizen of the Year

Paul Perrett
Paul is a self motivated, passionate individual who devotes many hours to volunteering in various areas and well as mentoring kids through sports, crafts and various activities.

As an active member of the Ryde Salvation Army, he is adept at juggling work, sport and university commitments with the needs of the community.

He is particularly interested in helping disadvantaged children, both here and abroad.

He has travelled to Cambodia – where he taught English - and Ghana where he volunteered in a children’s rehabilitation centre as part of a Salvation Army team.

Closer to home he provides a positive male influence for local youths and is able to open up their horizons with his own real life experiences; and works as a student support officer at local schools and at Ryde East before and after school care. Paul is now a casual teacher at Ryde Public School.

Whether he is leading a group at a camp for refugee children, helping run a youth centre, organising fundraising, dressing up as Santa Claus, doing a door knock appeal or keeping in touch through a pen pal system he set up in Nauru, Paul has a positive impact on everyone he comes in contact with.

He is very much a team player, demonstrated by his fellow rugby union team players when they voted him Player of the Year.

Australia Day Honours

Congratulations also to the six local residents from the City of Ryde who received Australia Day Honours in recognition of their achievements and service:

Member of the Order of Australia

• Professor David Sillence, for significant services to medicine
• Associate Professor Jeno Marosszeky, for significant service to rehabilitation

Medal of the Order of Australia

• Alan Harper, for service to education
• Hugh Lee, for service to the Chinese community
• Brian Pennington, for service to people with a disability
• Loreen Standord, for service to surf life saving.
  

2013 Australia Day Ambassador - Jono and Dano

An on-air partnership spanning thirty years has earned radio and television personalities Jono and Dano icon status to generations of Australians.

Their unique blend of humour, musical memories, celebrity interviews and a fresh perspective on the things that matter most to their audiences has kept the dynamic duo firmly at the top of the popularity stakes.

They have also enjoyed separate careers, both at home and abroad, including acting, writing and creative consultancy.

Jono hosted several top rating radio and TV shows in the UK and was the narrator for the children’s show The Koala Brothers.

Dano was the face of Visa card’s Olympic campaign and is the creative consultant and spokesperson for Autism Awareness – a national not-for-profit organisation.

The mention of their names immediately conjures a uniquely Australian image of fun and mateship.