Harrington Crowdy Head Chamber of Commerce chairman Mike Parsons announced the award winners with Narelle Campbell, who has been to the Australian bases in the Antarctic on four different 12 month deployments.

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The chamber hosted the function with Harrington Lions Club, which served a barbecue breakfast, billy tea and damper to the crowd.

The following people accepted awards at the ceremony:

Citizen of the Year- Eric Mason

If there's a community group in Harrington, chances are Eric Mason has been involved.

Eric has lived in Harrington for the past 12 years and during this time served as vice president on the Club Harrington board of directors.

He was the Travelling Bowlers Club president for three years and was a member of the Harrington Garden Club. Through this role, Eric maintained the gardens and lawns in the Harrington Waters Estate until his legs gave way to DVT.

He was a member of the Harrington Community Bus Service for two years.

Eric spent five years with Harrington Lions Club and is the immediate past president.

During his presidency, the club replaced garden seats along the pathway from Old Harrington Road to the boat ramp and Pilot Hill. The club supplied the new seats at the off-leash dog park.

The club undertook major woks at the Crowdy Head Surf Club to provide paths from the clubhouse to the new watch tower and to the beach and gardens at Harrington Public School.

Eric is still working hard to have the bollards depicting early settlers refurbished.

Eric was an excellent leader of the Lions Club and under his leadership the Harrington community can now enjoy the much need facilities.

Volunteer Group of the Year- Marine Rescue Crowdy Harrington

The dedicated volunteers of Marine Rescue Crowdy Harrington help protect the waters of the Manning river and the coast from Diamond Head to Black Head.

The operational unit is located near the Harrington breakwall and lagoon on Beach Street. The base has two boats, Crowdy 20 and Crowdy 30, on hand for rescue work and training.

All personnel are well trained to be competent radio operators or crew for the rescue boats.

As a volunteer group, the members rely on donations and fund raising to provide to cover 80 per cent of operation costs.

Volunteer of the Year- Phil West

Since making the permanent move to Harrington in 2015, Phil West has demonstrated noteworthy contributions to the community.

A quiet achiever, Phil has been involved in many of the volunteer led and run projects in Harrington in the past three and a half years.

In 2017, Phil was elected Harrington Lions Club president; his fourth stint as leader of a Lions Club.

During his term, Phil was part of the organising committee for the John Oxley bicentennial celebrations. The events were highly successful and required meticulous planning and oversight.

Phil also initiated, researched and drafted the concept for the interpretive signs located near the anchor in John Oxley Reserve.

Phil worked with a small team of volunteers to bring this concept to fruition. The signs were unveiled in October 2018 by Member for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams.

He was commended for his honesty, integrity and willingness to consult with others.

Phil is actively involved in the varied Lions Club activities. While a lot of the activities are noticeable around town, lots of planning behind the scenes normally goes unnoticed.

A key strength of Phil is in the planning of these projects, working quietly behind the scenes researching products and drafting plans for the club's construction projects.

In 2020, Phil was elected Harrington Museum Committee chair. In this role he worked with his contacts in the building profession to plan, design and cost a fit-for-purpose Harrington Museum.

Phil also wrote a comprehensive business plan for the project that was presented to MidCoast Council for consideration.

At the same time Phil was an active member of the Harrington Heritage Riverwalk project team. He devoted considerable time to research materials required for the signs and their mountings and to prepare designs and plans for each pad.

Phil West was recognised on Australia Day as an outstanding team player who has contributed to many projects for the benefit of the Harrington community.

Youth Volunteer of the Year- Tyler Blake

Since moving with his mum to call Harrington home, Tyler joined the Crowdy Harrington volunteer marine rescue unit and undertook training to become a radio operator.

At 18, Tyler is the youngest volunteer of the unit to become a licensed radio operator.

He regularly takes charge of the radio operations room and completes six hour shifts on a weekly basis.

Tyler is an energetic young person and has earned the respect of his peers at the base.

Junior Citizen of the Year- Tia Benson

Harrington Public School student Tia Benson is an exemplary class citizen who displays tremendous school spirit. She always listens attentively, helps those around her, shows initiative, demonstrates maturity well beyond her years and is a positive role model to others. Tia is certainly as asset to the Harrington community.

Tiarna McLucus, Reiley Wheeler and Kale Moore were other nominees in the category.

Tiarna is a conscientious student who cares for others and is a great asset to Harrington Public School. She exhibits tremendous school spirit by adhering to the school values of respect, responsibility and personal best.

Reiley is a student who has a bright and energetic personally which is adored by all. His positive outlook on life is to be commended as he actively participates in all activities in and outside of school.

Kale is a quiet achiever who is modest with his achievements, especially in his cognitive ability. He is respectful to those around him, has beautiful manners and is kind-hearted.

Chelsea Atkins was named Sportsperson of the Year while Harrington Public School's Noah Lindsay was named Junior Sportsperson of the Year. Details about these winners will feature in another story.