3 April 2009
Three young finalists will take to the stage at this year's
Southern Cross Young Achiever Awards held in Hobart tomorrow night.
Kelly Eljendberg, 24 of West Hobart; Thanuja Dharmadasa, 23 of
South Hobart; and Josh Sutton, 22 of Devonport are all finalists in
the Spirit of Tasmania award category.
The Spirit of Tasmania Award recognises young people who possess
confidence, creativity, credibility, leadership, commitment and
high achievement.
"This is our fourth year sponsoring this award, and I'm impressed
with the nominations we receive every time," said Mr Charles
Griplas, CEO Spirit of Tasmania.
"These wonderful young Tasmanian's inspire hope and excitement in
what the future may hold for their personal achievements and for
our community at large."
University of Tasmania student, Thanuja Dharmadasa, has a long
list of academic achievements both in medicine and music. She has
sacrificed her personal time to be actively and successfully
involved in several fundraising efforts in support of the Cancer
Council of Tasmania's Cancer Research Fund.
In her final year of study, Thanuja's work in the area of Multiple
Myeloma was accepted for presentation at conferences in Perth and
the United States. Despite demanding study schedules, she undertook
teaching piano for only $5 per lesson with all proceeds donated to
the Cancer Council in Tasmania. On top of this, Thanuja fundraises
for cancer research by baking and selling hundreds of cupcakes
within her community.
"Working in several capacities within our community has enabled me
to discover and appreciate the wealth and diversity of our talents.
This has been an inspiring motivation for my ongoing work in this
regard, and being nominated for this incredible award has thus been
an exciting yet humbling experience," said Thanuja.
Josh Sutton has a real passion for food. He started his
apprenticeship at Essence Food and Wine in Devonport 6 years ago
and is currently the restaurant's head chef. Aside from being
responsible for all the food preparation, ordering and menu design,
Josh still has time to provide on the job training for three
apprentice chefs and two trainees.
Josh volunteers his spare time preparing food for the Gran's Van
soup kitchen, a charity that helps the needy and less privileged in
Devonport. He was asked to be the guest chef at the 2006 Mayor's
Long Table 'Dinner Under the Stars' for the Make a Wish Foundation
of which he designed the entrée and main course for 120
people.
"I'm excited to be attending the awards ceremony, especially to
see what the other finalist's achievements are. It's great that
young people of Tasmania have the opportunity to nominate
themselves for these awards," said Josh.
Kelly Eljendberg has been the president of the 'young friends'
group associated with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG)
since 2005. Her aim was to enhance the cultural experiences of
younger generations and connect them to the TMAG and arts in
general.
Kelly organises monthly events, manages a membership of almost 200
young Tasmanians and independently writes, designs and publishes a
quarterly street press magazine. She represented the group at the
World Federation of Friend of Museums international conference in
Israel in 2008 and is proud that Tasmania has reached the level of
being represented at a major museums conference overseas.
"I am ecstatic to be nominated for this award, and to feel that
our group has been recognised on the forefront of young museum
support bodies in Australia. Thank you to Spirit of Tasmania for
acknowledging and supporting the drive and passion in many young
Tasmanians to further our fine state," said Kelly.
"I wish all three finalists every success in their future and
would like to thank all those that nominated in the Spirit of
Tasmania Award category," said Mr Charles Griplas.
The winner of the 2009 Spirit of Tasmania Award will be announced
at the Wrest Point Casino Gala Presentation dinner on Saturday 4
April.
-ends-
For further information contact:
Soniya Fernandez
Corporate Communications Coordinator
Spirit of Tasmania
Tel: 03 9206 6220 or 0438 393 898
Email: saf@spiritoftasmania.com.au
