Good Neighbours Award Winners 2026
Caption: Good Neighbour of the Year 2026 winner Reece Childs with Deputy Mayor Cr Kellie Marsh
Good Neighbour of the Year
- Winner: Reece Childs (Warilla)
- Runner up: Jack and Caeli Whitford (Shellharbour)
- Honourable Mentions: Vasa, Tony McClelland and Stephen Cusack
- Most Environmentally Friendly Neighbour: Veronica Robin
- Street of the Year: Ocean Beach Drive, Shellharbour
Rock Art Competition
- Rock Art Competition: Ages 0-5: winner: Spencer, second prize: Miller, third prize: Leonard
- Ages 6-12: winner: Jaylah, second prize (tied): Londyn and Bella
- Ages 13-17: winner: Sophie, second prize: Declan, third prize (tied): Amalia and Layla
- Ages 18+: winner: Lorraine, second prize: Chloe, third prize (tied): Lyn, Paula and Kylie
Winners 2025
Good Neighbours Award Winners 2025
Shellharbour City Council proudly recognised the 2025 Good Neighbour Award winners at a special event held at the Civic Centre tonight. Shining a spotlight on the outstanding locals who make their communities better places to live, work and thrive.
Caption: Good Neighbour of the Year 2025 Winner Gary McLeish with Mayor Chris Homer.
The 2025 award winners are:
Good Neighbour of the Year
- Winner: Gary McLeish (Albion Park)
- Runner up: Jennifer Davies (Albion Park)
- Honourable Mentions: Daniel Goodway (Albion Park), John and Mitz Perez (Shellharbour), Lyn and Peter Oldfield (Oak Flats), Ron and Margaret Godsman (Blackbutt), Sandra Cossa (Albion Park Rail), Nathan and Ally Campbell (Flinders)
Children’s Drawing Competition:
- Winner: Miah R
- Runner Up: Charlie R
- Third Place: Ariana V
- Honourable Mention: Elly H
Winners 2024
Good Neighbours Award Winners 2024
Good Neighbour of Year is Greg and Sue Walsh from Mt Warrigal - nominated by 7 Neighbours: (Melissa Ritchie, Neil and Mary Bernard, Tom & Kira Faint, Kurt Heller, Beth & Adrian Herbert, Nathan East, Phuong Meester).
Greg and Sue Walsh won a $500 visa card from sponsors Lendlease Calderwood.
They were nominated for their remarkable demonstration of generosity, exemplified by Greg's recent act of kindness in offering a driving lesson to his neighbor Melissa's 17-year-old son. Despite Greg's background as an ex RTA tester, his willingness to help underscored their admirable nature. Neighbours Tom and Kira probably best summed up what so many in the street shared about Sue and Greg with the statement, “They embody the spirit of kindness that make our street so great to reside in.”
Good Neighbour of the Year Childrens Choice is Rosie DiFazio.
Rosie was nominated by Willow in our drawing competition who said “Rosie looks out for my mum when dad is away and makes us Christmas Cookies."
Rosie won a $250 Eftpos visa, kindly donated by The Waterfront Shell Cove.
The 2024 Good Neighbour of the Year Runner Up is Linda Bardak.
Prize - $250 voucher kindly donated by our sponsors The Waterfront Shell Cove.
Linda was nominated by her neighbour Shane Bitschkat for Linda’s initiative on running several social media groups and providing support through cooking meals for others and lending an ear for those that need it.
Highly Commended
Of the 87 entries for Good Neighbour of the Year for 2024, thanks to our generous sponsors we were able to select five residents, who each received a $100 gift card for their outstanding contributions to the community:
- Ash and Sam Gill (Albion Park)
- Marilyn and Tony Muscat (Albion Park)
- Elaine Brown (Oak Flats)
- James O’Connell (Shell Cove)
- Josh (Mt Warrigal)
And the winner of the Kid’s Drawing Competition- Lilly Brown.
Runner up of the Drawing competition - Kyliah and Third place in the Drawing competition - Willow.
