Citizen and Community Group Awards 2025

Applauding the winners – Community Awards 2025

Congratulations to our wonderful City of Glen Eira Community Award winners for 2025. These annual awards highlight the exceptional contributions of groups and individuals to our community life.

Citizen of the Year 2025 - David Chester

David Chester has been a dedicated community volunteer for over 20 years, supporting people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds across Glen Eira. His volunteer work spans sporting clubs, disability services, senior’s groups and soup kitchens, reflecting his compassionate and inclusive approach.

His journey began through supporting his brother Zac, who lives with Down Syndrome—an experience that shaped David’s strong belief in the value and potential of every individual. Known for his empathy and genuine connection with others, David treats everyone with dignity and respect.

David’s long-term commitments include more than 20 years with Maccabi All Abilities basketball, cricket and AFL programs. He co-founded the Armchair Society, a thought‑provoking discussion group for seniors running for nearly five years, and has volunteered at the Nourish Soup Kitchen for over two years. In 2025, he also provided IT support to Kosher Meals on Wheels, helping supply meals to vulnerable members of the Jewish community.

For 18 years, David served as a volunteer, adviser and observer on the Board of Access Inc., contributing to camps, arts programs, music, and community outings until the organisation’s closure. His consistent leadership, empathy and hands‑on support have made a profound and lasting impact on the Glen Eira community.

In his words, 'recognition like this means a great deal because it reflects the value of community service and the importance of showing up consistently for others. I see it not just as a personal honour, but as recognition of volunteering itself and the role it plays in strengthening communities like Glen Eira.'

Young Citizen of the Year 2025 - Romilly Miller

Romilly was the Chair of the 2024 Youth Engagement Team (YET), leading with professionalism and dedication from February to December 2024. They fostered a friendly and inclusive environment, ensuring all team members felt safe and valued while also reviewing meeting agendas outside of regular hours to ensure topics were relevant to young people are their concerns.They consistently advocated for young people's interests within Council, demonstrating strong leadership and support for their peers. Their commitment to community change and work ethic set an outstanding example to the Glen Eira community.

Romilly presented the 2024 Youth Survey results to an Assembly of Councillors, encouraging active participation and handling questions with poise, sharing authentic examples from their own experiences as a young person.

Leading discussions with the Victoria Police Glen Eira Bayside Local Area Commander and the Mayor, Romilly continued to showcase their dedication to amplifying young voices. Balancing their studies in law and internships in local government and the not-for-profit legal sector, Romilly's passion for civic engagement is always evident.

Other contributions included providing youth-specific feedback on various Council policies and co-designing the annual Youth Survey. Romilly's efforts made the 2024 Youth Survey the most successful youth engagement campaign to date, strengthening the evidence base for future planning.

Romilly's work was recognised as part of the broader YET (Youth Engagement Team) achievement, with the team becoming semi-finalists for the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards - Victorian Government Group Achievement in the Community Award 2025. This award honours groups that have made positive, youth-led changes in their community through consultation and engagement.

Community Group of the Year 2025 - Community First Responders Australia

Since its inception two years ago, Community First Responders Australia (CFRA) has been dedicated to enhancing community resilience and saving lives through emergency response.

CFRA supports the health and safety of the Glen Eira community, focusing on those with barriers to emergency help during critical moments. Emphasising diversity, inclusion, and cultural safety, CFRA has achieved significant results, including:

• Establishing lifesaving programs like Shock Savers™ and eight Shock Stations™.
• Training over 3,500 individuals in CPR/Defibrillation and onboarding 750 members to the CFRA-GoodSAM Team.
• Delivering public first aid training sessions, including CPR, Seniors First Aid, and Paediatric First Aid.
• Training over 300 seniors in First Aid/Defibrillation in 2024.

CFRA's collaborations include training for family violence prevention with Women’s Health in the South East and working with diverse communities such as Afghan, Chinese, Italian, Russian, Indigenous, and Neuro-divergent residents. In 2024, CFRA also introduced training to improve female cardiac arrest survival using anatomically accurate and fully clothed manikins.

Sustainability Award 2025 - Eeshan Karra

Eeshan has made meaningful contributions to sustainability in Glen Eira, earning recognition for his commitment to environmental initiatives. His involvement with the Glen Eira community gardens has strengthened local sustainable food production and promoted eco‑friendly practices.

He has hosted and participated in seminars on waste management and sustainable produce, and organised fundraisers for the World Wildlife Fund. His leadership, mentorship, and hands‑on involvement have made him a valued role model in the community.

At Melbourne High School (2021–2023), Eeshan fostered collaboration and a positive school culture, founding and leading both the Social Club and Sustainability Club to create opportunities for student engagement.

From 2021 to 2023, he contributed as a Youth Events and Leadership Team Participant and Mentor with Glen Eira City Council, guiding young people in leadership and community initiatives. His work with the Glen Eira Youth Climate and Sustainability Group further demonstrated his dedication to inspiring community‑driven climate action.

Celebrating volunteers

We also celebrated National Volunteer Week with certificates of appreciation presented by Glen Eira Mayor, Cr Anne-Marie Cade and Councillors to 181 volunteers who have donated an incredible 101,452 total hours of volunteer time to various community causes. Thirty-four community groups in Glen Eira nominated their volunteers for recognition and on behalf of the community, we thank every volunteer for their generosity and care.