Alister Henskens portrait
Alister Henskens portrait

Club Person of the Year Award Winners Mick and Lea James

Mick and Lea James receiving award

Mr ALISTER HENSKENS (Ku-ring-gai—Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade, and Minister for Sport) (15:33): Despite flooding, COVID shutdowns and staff shortages, local clubs across New South Wales went above and beyond to support their local communities over the past year. Mick James, Chairman of West Pymble Bicentennial Club and his wife, Lea, are great examples of the importance of local clubs in the community. During the lockdowns, Mick and Lea put in over 20 hours a week to help the club survive, with Mick delivering meals and puzzles to people's houses and Lea taking orders over the phone—something our family did on Thursday nights during lockdowns as we played trivia put on by the club. When the club was short-staffed, Mick and Lea stepped up to provide support with cooking, cleaning, fundraisers and much more. In recognition of their dedication to the club and the community, Mick and Lea won the Club Person of the Year Award as part of the 2022 New South Wales Clubs & Community Awards. Mick and Lea have gone above and beyond. I congratulate them on this well-deserved award and thank them for their tireless efforts over the past years.