The Rochester community came together to celebrate and honour some of the town's most legendary citizens yesterday.
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A special community breakfast was held at Rochester Lions Park on Australia Day, with crowds gathering early to enjoy the day together.
About 300 breakfasts were served while the morning's festivities featured live music, a flyover by Echuca Aero Club and the Australian flag raising ceremony performed by the Rochester Scouts Group during the national anthem.
Attendees applauded as three of the town’s local legends were formally recognised as Community Group of the Year, Junior Sportsperson of the Year and Citizen of the Year.
The Rochester Rotary Club was recognised as Community Group of the Year for the remarkable Songs at the Silos project, which brought hundreds of visitors to town and provided much-needed healing and hope for residents still recovering from the impact of the floods.
Through the project, club members demonstrated exceptional leadership by understanding the community's deep need for connection and togetherness during the challenging flood recovery period.
Songs at the Silos event co-ordinator Heather Watson said it was humbling to be recognised for the project.
She’s proud of what has come of the event, having been told they would be lucky to have 100 people attend.
“We said at Rotary we would like to have 300 and we ended up with 500,” she said.
Junior Sportsperson of the Year was awarded to Judd Cuttriss, primarily for his outstanding success on the cricket pitch, but also his dedication to football in the winter sports season.
“(I'm) pretty honoured for the recognition,” Judd said.
“I work pretty hard, week in, week out.”
After sweeping the club’s awards in both the under-15s and B-grade in 2024-25, the 14-year-old Judd became the youngest player to play A-grade cricket for Rochester this year when he joined the club’s McMahon Shield side.
The young gun has been effective with the ball this season against the region’s best, claiming eight wickets at 25.13 in Goulburn Murray Cricket’s premier competition.
“It’s been good (stepping up to A-grade),” Judd said.
“The boys are a really inclusive, supportive, good group, it’s been good fun.”
Judd has also been a representative star, including earning selection in Cricket NSW’s under-16 Bradman Cup, the country championships for junior cricketers.
The morning’s most prestigious award, Citizen of the Year, was presented to John Atley for his involvement in the community, his reliability and unwavering commitment.
“I’m honoured to receive this prestigious award today,” Mr Atley said.
He was recognised for his outstanding dedication as president of the Rochester Lions Club, his valuable contributions to festival committees, his mentoring role as coach of junior sports teams and his distinguished 31-year career with Victoria Police.
“To receive recognition in such a special community means a lot,” he said.
“I’ve had the privilege of serving this community for 12 years as a police officer, (out) of my 31 years and that’s exactly what it was, a privilege.
“Joining the Rochester Lions Club was simply another way to just contribute.
“I just wanted to be a part of an incredible volunteer group and help this town bounce back as much as I could.
“The town’s given me just as much as I’ve got out of it.”
Other dedicated community groups and individuals were also presented with well-deserved achievement awards at the celebration.