Mayoral Column – Celebrating Penrith’s community champions

Wednesday, 5 August 2026

Penrith is home to many selfless residents who strive to help others and make our City the best it can be. Penrith City Council’s Local Celebration Awards honour these outstanding people for their dedication and achievements.

We recognised this year’s award recipients at a special event this week, celebrating with their family, friends and those who nominated them.

Special congratulations to our Citizen of the Year, Patricia Quinlan. At 82, Patricia is an active volunteer and a familiar, smiling face serving meals at Mama Lana’s Community Foundation. Patricia served on school P&C groups, ran art classes for seniors and supported the NSW SES brigade, all while raising children as a single mother and foster carer.

This year’s Mayor’s Local Hero Award went to Mujgan Tahery. The CEO of Uniting Circle Multicultural Community Centre, Mujgan is deeply connected to her Afghan heritage and helps migrants and refugees feel welcome and supports them in accessing services and community connections.

David Conroy and Karen Witherspoon were awarded the Making a Difference – Community Service Award. Leaders of the Nepean Dragons Football Club, David and Karen are champions of inclusivity, providing opportunities for children and adults of all abilities to learn soccer skills and play for fun.

Penrith’s Young Citizen of the Year is Ella Johnson, a Youth Council Member for the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network and student mentor at Penrith Anglican College. Ella has raised funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities, mental health initiatives and participates in Clean Up Australia Day.

We also celebrated our newest Honoured Citizen, Bruce Turner AM, a lifelong Penrith resident who last year won the inaugural Global Internal Audit Legacy Award. Bruce has chaired and served on audit committees for more than 40 organisations and is a published author, whose ‘Banks of the Nepean’ trilogy showcases Penrith’s rich history.

This event also recognised the 2026 Australia Day Honours and King’s Birthday Honours recipients – Farah Madon AM, Michael Allen PSM OAM, Tony Lackey OAM, Sally Cox APM and Michael Kovacs AFSM.

We once again congratulate and thank these inspiring community members for their positive contributions to our wonderful City.

Cr Todd Carney
Mayor of Penrith

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Wednesday, 5 August 2026.