On January 26th we celebrate Australia Day and all the things we love about our nation: land, sense of fair go, lifestyle, democracy, the freedoms we enjoy and particularly our people.

The National Australia Day Council states, "Australia Day is about acknowledging and celebrating the contribution that every Australian makes to our contemporary and dynamic nation.

From our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - who have been here for more than 65,000 years - to those who have lived here for generations, to those who have come from all corners of the globe to call our country home."

Each year, more than 100 remarkable Australia Day Ambassadors, from Olympians and Paralympians, environmentalists and foodies, to humanitarians and local heroes participate in Australia Day 2022 activities around the state, sharing their stories and connecting with communities.

These high achieving individuals will head to all corners of NSW on 26 January, volunteering their getting involved in local ceremonies and celebrations, with communities encouraged to come together this Australia Day to Reflect, Respect and Celebrate the Australian spirit and our diversity.

This year's Australia day ambassador for Coonamble is Clyde Campbell, founder of the Shake It Up Foundation and recipient of the Order of Australia in 2021.

Clyde has been an Australia Day Ambassador for the past nine years, recognised for his significant service to community health, particularly to people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Clyde started the Shake It Up Foundation ten years ago after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s himself at only 44 years of age.

Focused solely on medical research for Parkinson’s, Shake It Up has been partnering with the Michael J Fox foundation to fund more than 22 million dollars worth of competitive research in Australia, with numerous research projects organised for the upcoming 12 months, with the aim of changing the progression of the disease.

"I'm very proud of the work we do," said Clyde.

"Parkinson’s has been around for 200 years, and we haven't really had the opportunity to change the disease for patients until now."

 Clyde himself is from Lismore, therefore he is looking forward to getting out into regional areas and supporting the amazing people from those regions.

"I'm excited to catch up with locals and enjoy Australia day all together, I'm very glad to be part of congratulating so many different areas of the community that are just so important." He said.

The Coonamble event was due to be held at the brand new Visitor Information Centre but due to forecast wet weather the venue has been moved to the Showground Pavilion.

Coonamble Shire Council's Event Co-ordinator Sophie Cullen said, "I think Scott will be very interesting and I'm look forward to hearing his story. We'll also have the Education Foundation presenting their scholarships before we get to the presentations of the awards."

"We had a great group of nominations. This year we kind of announced them along the way and that helped generate more interest to spur more nominations which was great."

Nominees are:

Citizen of the Year: Alan Dodd, Doug White, Ian Kelly, Keith Glover, Lee O'Connor, Marina Slack-Smith, Rolly Green, Stan Leonard and Terry Lees.

Young Citizen of the Year: Kagan Becker and Patrick Forbes

Community Event of the Year: Coonamble District Business Awards and Coonamble Rodeo & Campdraft

Community Group of the Year: Coonamble Children's Service, Coonamble Community Radio, Junior Rugby League, Quambone Community Resources Committee, and Coonamble Rotary Club.

Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Jarron Welsh, Jack Page, Neil Kennedy, Kahlem Turnbull and Zahlee Fernando.