A 300 strong crowd was on hand for the announcement that saw Mrs Rita Keed of Peak Hill and Chantelle Clark of Parkes named winners of the prestigious awards.

Mrs Keed was nominated for her continuous support of Aboriginal families within the shire and especially Peak Hill.

Of particular note is Rita’s readiness to assist everyone.

She regularly works at the Libraries within the shire where she willingly shares her knowledge of Aboriginal stories and culture with groups of children of all ages.

Rita is highly regarded as a great leader and role model for all Aboriginal communities where her work impacts positively on the community as a whole.

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Youth of the Year award winner Chantelle Clark was decribed as being a role model within her peers – male and female.

Chantelle has excelled in school – where she is a member of the Parkes High School Student Representative Council (SRC). She is also president of the AECG – Junior Aboriginal Education Community Group.

Currently she is completing the Indigenous school based traineeship at the ANZ Bank with great success.

At last Sunday’s announcement, Chantelle was described as being someone who could carry out any activity accurately and always with a positive attitude.