Two locals have been honoured at the 2025 Victorian Senior of the Year Awards at Government House in Melbourne last Wednesday.
Steve Bently and Geoffrey Mann received Council on the Ageing Victoria Senior Achiever Awards for their contributions to the local community.
Mr Bently’s currently volunteers at Geelong Animal Welfare Society and as a mentor for the L2P program, helping young people without access to a vehicle or instruction attain their probationary drivers licence.
He was Geelong YMCA president for eight years and is the current vice president of the Stair Climbing Australia Committee.
Mr Mann, a former farmer and business owner, has been involved in volunteering for five decades, first with the National Trust and for the past 25 years at Rotary, to which he dedicates two days a week.
He volunteers two days a week in Geelong FoodShare’s commercial kitchen preparing meals for people in need and one day a week driving for the volunteer patient transport program at Barwon Health, ensuring community members can get to important medical appointments.
He said volunteering was a way to meet people and good for his mental health.
“I still basically have the afternoons to myself – it’s five half-days really – so it doesn’t interfere with what I’m doing in the garden,” Mr Mann said.
“I read all the letters Barwon Health wrote about me, they pumped me up a bit. But it’s good to feel useful, rather than sitting at home reading the paper.
“It’s a feeling that you’re helping someone less fortunate than yourself. I may have stopped work as such, but I’m still involved every day of the week with people as an active contributor to society.”
