Lidia Aitken, Ballarat Senior Citizen of the Year 2016
Congratulations to our own Lidia Aitken on being presented with the Mayor’s Award for Ballarat Senior Citizen of the Year. Lidia was honoured with her award on the 28th of September at a special presentation in the Town Hall. She said she was ‘gob smacked’ when her name was read out, believing there were other more worthy recipients on the list. “I just never, ever expected it,” she said softly.
Lidia was nominated by her friend Barb Little, who asked Lidia if it would be okay to nominate her. “I said I hadn’t done enough. There are all these other people who have done things and Barb said she would really like to do this.”
Lidia has a strong record of community service spanning decades including her work as an active committee member and events coordinator for U3A Ballarat and a valuable member of Rotary for more than 25 years. Her recent volunteer roles include organising meals for Blaze Aid and raising funds for tree replacements in local bushfire areas. In Buninyong, Lidia conducts sewing classes for young girls and was the driving force behind orchestrating the local "One Million Stars to End Violence", where she asked Australian of the Year Rosie Batty to launch the project.
Three weeks ago Lidia lost her beloved mother, Nina, and during her acceptance speech it was her mum and dad that she thought of. “I’m not really sure what I said but something along the lines of my mum would be proud and so would my dad, because I think with this award it’s what I’ve put back into the community, it’s not about self, not about me, it’s about the community I live in,” she said.