26 January 2010

A tireless hands-on community man and a world-class sporting champion will fly the flag for Strathfield in 2011 as citizens of the year receiving acknowledgement for their efforts this Australia’s Day.

Strathfield Council today announced Niall King and Prasanth Sellathurai as the 2011 Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year and acknowledged their valuable contribution to the Strathfield community.

Both were presented with their awards by Mayor of Strathfield, Councillor Tony Maroun and Strathfield’s Australia Day Ambassadors, the WSFM radio duo ‘Jono and Dano’ (Jonothon Coleman and Ian Rogerson) at Strathfield’s Australia Day celebrations in Strathfield Park.

Citizen of the Year Niall King has been a member of the Strathfield Rotary Club for a number of years and dedicates much of his time to raising funds for the Trish Multiple Sclerosis Research Foundation for research into the causes of the disease. Niall is part of the group organising the annual Strathfield Golf Day and Dinner at Strathfield Golf Club. In 2010, the event raised over $52,000 for the Trish Foundation, bringing the total raised by the Strathfield Rotary Club to over $250,000 over the past decade. Niall King, a Strathfield South resident has previously coordinated the construction of a level shaded area and garden at the Studdy MS Centre at Lidcombe which is enjoyed by MS sufferers everyday.

As Strathfield’s Young Citizen of the Year, Prasanth Sellathurai certainly has a bright future. The duel 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist in the men’s team and pommel horse gymnastics events, Prasanth followed up his three medal haul in Delhi with a bronze medal in the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam.

Named as an ambassador for the Premier’s Sporting Challenge, Prasanth has been helping to educate local school students about the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. In 2010, Prasanth was also presented with the Senior Sports Award at the Strathfield Council Youth Achievement Awards and is currently studying health science at Sydney University.