Outstanding young individuals were recognised for their remarkable achievements and contributions at the 2023 Bayside Youth Awards ceremony held last night at Sandringham Yacht Club.
The biennial awards recognise exceptional individuals aged 10-25 for their contributions to the Bayside community across five different categories: community, creative, environment, leadership, and the Julian Gurrieri Memorial Award for Bayside Youth Participation.
Bayside City Council Mayor, Cr Hanna El Mouallem, highlighted how the awards showcased the positive influence of young leaders in Bayside.
“The past few years have been difficult for young people, but they have demonstrated remarkable resilience by staying committed and enthusiastic about the causes they care about. The Bayside Youth Awards recognise their exceptional accomplishments.” Mayor Cr El Mouallem said.
Mayor Cr El Mouallem acknowledged the impressive talent and unwavering determination of young leaders in the community and recognised their valuable contributions to society.
The Bayside Youth Awards honour outstanding young individuals who have made a significant positive impact in their community and encourage others to follow in their footsteps.
Winners
Bayside Youth Awards 2023 Leadership – Flynn Megahan
Flynn Megahan is a proactive member of the Bayside Youth Ambassadors committee, inspiring young leaders to participate in volunteer groups. He’s raised $1,400 for ‘Impact for Women’ and advocates for positive change in his community. Flynn won the Victorian Parliament Prize for campaigning for a pedestrian crossing on Thomas Street, Brighton East, and also won the ABC’s Take Over Melbourne storytelling competition.
Bayside Youth Awards 2023 Julian Gurrieri Memorial Award – Ziyin (Tommy) Zhou
Ziyin (Tommy) Zhou is a committed member of Bayside Youth Services Committees, including the Boombox Events FReeZA Committee and Bayside Youth Ambassadors. Tommy is a valued member, contributing to event design, communications, and delivery. He’s passionate about music and journalism, being an active member of his school’s orchestra and chamber string bands, and the Chief Editor of the student magazine KidSpirit. Tommy attended the Summer School of the New York Times for investigative reporting. He’s known for his good time management, positive attitude, and willingness to help his community.
Bayside Youth Awards 2023 Community – Marianne Huebel
Marianne Huebel received nominations across the Community, Creativity, Environment, and Leadership award categories for her volunteer projects. She’s focused on making a difference in the world by establishing projects that are both environmental and community-focused. Marianne collects, cleans, and resells outgrown toys to reduce landfill and has generated $1,000 to support the Bayside Community Information and Support Service. She plans to make her toy garage sale an annual event and involve other local schools in the project.
Bayside Youth Awards 2023 Creativity – Ben Adler
Ben Adler started his own business to stencil house numbers on curbs after realizing emergency vehicles had difficulty finding residential homes due to faded or covered street numbers. He offers the service at cost and works up to 20 hours on weekends, traveling nearly 50km on his bike to each location. Ben’s initiative has gained media attention and notable clients, including the Mayor of Glen Eira City Council, who praised Ben’s punctuality, politeness, and perfectionism in his work.
Bayside Youth Awards 2023 Environment Milla Besanko
Milla Besanko is passionate about the environment and volunteering in the Bayside community. In 2022, Milla was heavily involved in the relaunch of the Brighton Beach Patrol Group and now she organises monthly clean-ups, collecting, weighing and counting litter. In the recent Clean Up Australia Day event, Milla oversaw 30kg of rubbish collected and was attended by over 35 volunteers including Members of Parliament Zoe Daniel and James Newbury. In addition to this, Milla ran a hugely successful St Kilda Mums Coats for Kids campaign at her primary school last year, collecting 17 bags of coats for kids in need.
