There are so many people across the Byron Shire quietly giving their time, energy & creativity to make their communities better, so it was lovely to spend an evening celebrating some of them at the 2026 Byron Shire Community Awards.
Held at Ocean Shores Country Club on 4th August, the awards recognised local people, businesses & community initiatives across eight categories. This year there were 123 nominations, which says a lot about the incredible amount of community work happening across the Shire.
Gratefully, Suffolk Park was well represented.
A special night for SPCA
We were thrilled to see three SPCA nominations recognised on the night.
Our Secretary, Hayley Devlin, was a runner-up in the Creativity Award, recognising her work in community creativity & engagement.
Our President, Kelly Minahan, was nominated for Community Member of the Year, while the Suffolk Park Community Association was also nominated for Community Initiative of the Year.
While we didn't take home a category win this year, being nominated alongside so many extraordinary people & organisations was an honour in itself.
Also, of course, we were there to cheer on some familiar faces.
A special mention goes to Lisa Apostolides from Byron Youth Theatre, who we had the pleasure to share a table with for the evening. It was lovely to spend the evening with her & celebrate the incredible contribution of local arts & youth organisations.
We also loved seeing the ladies from the Byron Bay Christmas Community Initiative & they were certainly dressed for the occasion. Fabulously!
Celebrating the people behind our communities
One of the nicest things about the awards is the incredible variety of people being recognised.
From Julie Williams, who has spent 35 years leading the Mullumbimby & District Neighbourhood Centre, to 17-year-old Rowon Bienke Von Freyhold, who founded a youth-led social change group, the winners demonstrated just how many different ways there are to make a difference.
There were environmental champions, artists, community organisers, businesses doing good, people improving health & wellbeing & volunteers bringing people together.
We were also delighted to meet Jan Olley, from Byron Bird Birdies, the winner of the 2025 Byron Shire Community Member of the Year award.
Byron Bird Buddies was founded around 20 years ago & has devoted years to protecting the Shire's birdlife, particularly vulnerable resident & migratory species. Jan continues to lead bird surveys, educational workshops, guided walks, bird counts & environmental clean-ups.
A great reminder of what community can do
It was a lovely evening, but more than that, it was a good reminder of why community matters.
Behind every project, event, environmental campaign, sporting club & community initiative are people who have decided to give their time & energy to something they care about.
Suffolk Park is fortunate to have so many of those people & we're proud to be part of a wider Byron Shire community full of them.
Congratulations to all of the nominees & winners. A big thank you to everyone who gives their time, often without expecting anything in return.
Community really is something we build together.
The winners were…
Congratulations again to all of this year's winners:
- Community Member of the Year: Julie Williams
- Young Community Member of the Year: Rowon Bienke Von Freyhold
- Access & Inclusion Award: A Midsummer’s Night Queen Production
- Caring for Country: Reid Waters
- Creativity Award: Brett Haylock & Chris Chen, Brunswick Picture House
- Contribution to Health & Wellbeing: Kylie Martin
- In Business for Good: The Paddock Project
- Community Initiative of the Year: Joint winners - Seed Giving Circle & Mullumbimby Show Society
Congratulations to everyone who was nominated & especially to all the volunteers, organisers, creatives, advocates & community-minded people who make our shire such a special place to live.
It was a lovely night to celebrate what community can achieve & we were very happy to be part of it.
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