By Shelby Brooks
St Vincent de Paul Society volunteers Deb and Peter Kerr have been named Kooweerup’s top citizens.
A number of the local Vinnies volunteers nominated their president Deb and her husband and former president Peter Kerr for the title of Kooweerup Citizens of the Year at the annual Australia Day ceremony and awards held Thursday 26 January.
Kooweerup had been without a local Vinnies presence for many years after a loss of members due to health and ageing.
When the group renewed in 2018, Peter became the inaugural president and Deb the inaugural secretary; at the end of the maximum allowed tenure of four years, they switched roles.
The local Vinnies provides material aid and support for those in need in the parish of Kooweerup and Lang Lang.
They work as far north as Devon Meadows and the coastal villages of Tooradin, Blind Bight and Warneet.
Together, Deb and Peter make a formidable leadership team for the combined Kooweerup/Iona Maryknoll Conference.
They are essential supporters of their faith community at St John’s Parish Kooweerup.
Peter, being an electrician, regularly helps fix things around the parish school, church and buildings.
They regularly helped out at school working bees, and Deb was a school canteen helper, and a caterer at the many wedding and special event functions run as part of school fundraising activities.
In their acceptance speech, Peter said in the last 12 months, the Kooweerup/Iona Maryknoll Conference was able to help 285 people, 98 of whom were children.
“The St Vincent de Paul Society is prepared to help anybody, no matter what their beliefs and background are,“ he said.
Other winners were Lucy Banks and Blayde Ord from St John the Baptist Primary School, Alera Murray and Rebecca Windsor from Bayles Regional Primary School, Indi Moyle and Jett Sharlott from Cardinia Primary School, Ella Watson and Ruby Mears from Kooweerup Primary School, and Amelia Allan, Georgia Porublev, Madisson Brzezowski and Abigail Farmer from Kooweerup Secondary College.
Former long-time Kooweerup Secondary College music teacher Claudia Barker OAM, performed as honorary guest and speaker for the event, sharing her remarkable life story for the large audience in the Kooweerup Community Centre.
Egg and bacon rolls and lamingtons were provided by the Lions Club.
