Emeline Lavaka – Parkes Young Citizen of the Year

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I’ve lived in Parkes all my life and the things I like most are the close friends and family I’ve made.

What do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I work at the Parkes Pool at the moment and I enjoy the team of people I work with a lot.

What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I like watching the footy and just hanging out with my friends.

What makes you proud? I was proud when I received my award on Australia Day.

If you could be an animal which one would you choose and why? Something in the sea because the ocean is really cool.

What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? Movie: Remember the Titans and book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I like emotional movies and books (:

Tell us about your best holiday. My favourite holiday was when I went skydiving at the beach in Wollongong.

What is on your bucket list? To see and live somewhere in Europe.

David Brown

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I’ve lived here all my life. I enjoy the community spirit of Parkes and it’s a very good place to bring up kids.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am the owner of Central West Pest
Management and I like being able to help people with their termite problems and set their homes right so that they are safe.

What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I like to play golf and water sports and often spend weekends at Wyangala Dam.

What makes you proud? My children. I am very proud of the young adults they have become. They are fabulous people.

If you could be an animal which one would you choose and why? A tiger. They are so majestic and such great providers to their cubs.

What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? The movie Pretty Woman. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts are such a great combination.

Tell us about your best holiday. The Amazon. To see the vast amount of water, fish, caiman (fresh water crocodiles) and pink dolphins were amazing.

What is on your bucket list? Egypt. I would like to see the pyramids and walk through the Valley of the Kings.

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I have lived in Parkes on and off for about 12 years both in town and on a farm. I really like the relaxed country lifestyle.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am a mother and I currently work two days a week teaching at St Laurence’s Parish School in Forbes. I love working with children and seeing them experience success at school.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Most of my spare time is spent with family. We love hanging out on the weekend and spend time helping with farm jobs or just being together.

What are you really good at? I’m not sure that I’m particularly good at it, but I love cooking!

If you could have a superpower what would it be? Time travel.

Tell us about your best holiday. I love travelling so this is a hard question. Visiting Africa, America and Eastern Europe were probably some of my favourite holidays as there are so many different types of landscapes, cities and experiences to enjoy.

Jenny Short

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I was born in Parkes, grew up in Trundle, had a few adventures before moving back to Parkes 27 years ago. The air is clean, the community strong and opportunity abounds.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am a casual tourism officer at the Visitor Information Centre. It is honestly the best job I have ever had! So many people, so many stories. I just LOVE it!

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Nothing beats a cup of tea (or glass of bubbles depending on the time of day), a sunny spot in the garden and a good book.

What are you really good at? Making fruitcakes and offering ‘suggestions’ to my significant other on how he could be spending his ‘spare’ time…

If you could have a superpower what would it be? To create the world John Lennon was thinking of when he wrote ‘Imagine’.

What is your pet hate? Made up words. Lazy speech. Poor grammar. I could go on, how long do you have?

Tell us about your best holiday. Paris – always Paris. Oh, and the west coast of Ireland – gobsmackingly beautiful!

Rob Ehsman

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I have lived in Parkes for 10 years. I love the close proximity from home to my workplace, the lack of traffic, the tight knit community spirit, and the extra freedom we are able to allow our kids.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am a small business owner/operator of three separate businesses in signage, solar lighting and jumping castles in the Parkes and Forbes regions. After 26 years I still enjoy the creative side of signage; I enjoy the new technology and innovation that the solar lighting business brings and I
enjoy the different challenges that all three demand.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? When I have time, I like to watch my kids doing sport, and as a family we ride motorbikes and waterski. I also love lying on the lounge watching TV and not be disturbed, all that with a few beers in between.

What are you really good at? Lying on the lounge watching TV and not being disturbed.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? Flying would be pretty cool, so yes give me Superman’s powers.

What is your pet hate? People who don’t listen, or use their brain.

Tell us about your best holiday. Earlier this year in Bali when my beautiful partner and I celebrated our 12th anniversary with family and friends. We spent the last few days just with our four kids taking it easy.

Erica Brazel

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I’ve lived in Parkes with my husband and three children since 2008 and prior to that I lived here from 1994 to 2001, so all up about 18 years

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I work at BWR Accountants and Advisers in Parkes. The best part of my day is talking to our clients when they come in the office. I enjoy having a chat and making a joke to brighten their day as well as mine.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? I love to spend time outdoors with my three little boys. I am also studying to get my Teachers Aide Certificate to help my children with their schooling, and I have written seven children’s books. My husband and I also have a trailer hire business that has just started.

What are you really good at? I don’t believe I’m REALLY good at anything, but this is what my children think I’m good at. Mr 8 says: singing; Mr 6 says: writing really fast and typing fast; Mr 4 says: working at your work. I just love the honesty of my kids.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? I would love the power that Dash from The Incredibles has. It would mean I could clean my house and do the washing at lightning speed, so I didn’t waste my weekends doing it.

What is your pet hate? When things don’t happen to my master plan. I am a massive planner and can get frustrated when I hit a snag and things don’t happen the way I’d like them to.

Tell us about your best holiday. The best holiday I had was in March this year. My husband and I went on a Carnival Spirit Cruise to the Pacific Islands (without the kids) for our 10th wedding anniversary. So much fun to be had on the high seas. Highly recommend it.

Wally Biles

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I moved to Parkes 13 years ago, after having lived in Forbes for 21 years. Parkes is a great community with very good people. It is also a very sporty community. I used to play football here many years ago, and worked at the RTA.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am the Youth Liaison Officer of the Crime Management Unit of the Parkes Police. I enjoy helping families and diverting kids from the justice system. It is very rewarding work.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? I am a mad gardener with my partner and also enjoy cooking and having friends over to enjoy the food with them. My favourite dish at the moment is paella.

What are you really good at? Communication with all levels of the community. I think I am a very understanding person.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? I would like to be able to instil a high level of education in people. An education is so important in life and I would like to be able to encourage parents to ensure their kids go to school.

What is your pet hate? Very loud environments, and also when the Rabbitohs suffer defeat. I am a Rabbitohs supporter through and through.

Tell us about your best holiday. Three years ago my partner and I went to Thailand and we cycled through villages meeting people and visiting schools. It was a very rewarding holiday and made us realise how blessed we are in Australia to have what we have here.

Gill Kinsela

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I’ve been living in Parkes since 1980. I like the people.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am the Parkes Meals on Wheels Service Manager. I love the people including work mates, volunteers and our precious clients.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Don’t really have much spare time… On weekends it’s the family, house etc.

What are you really good at? No idea.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? Mindfulness.

What is your pet hate? People who don’t follow through with actions after words are spoken and promises made.

Tell us about your best holiday. Going to USA and Mexico, watching my daughters dance on the international stage and cruising from LA to Mexico with a great bunch  of people.

Pat Lenehan

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? Five and a half years. The thing I like the most is the great community we have within our town making it a great place to raise kids.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I run my own business called Regos Plus Tyre & Mechanical. I enjoy the satisfaction from when our team are able to help someone out and get them back on the road.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Most of my spare time is spent with my two young children and my partner. Otherwise I try to get out on my bike as much as possible.

What are you really good at? Not giving up until the job is done.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? Turn water into beer – ha ha ha . No seriously, it would be no more sick kids.

What is your pet hate? People not realising their potential.

Tell us about your best holiday. I was lucky enough to visit the USA in 2015. It had been a lifelong dream to go there, in particular Nashville. An amazing experience that I would strongly recommend to everyone.

Tracie Robertson

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I was born in Parkes and started high school at the Parkes Christian School but moved away soon after. I finished school in Young and worked in Sydney for eight years. I worked for Telecom/Telstra and as Western Region Sales Executive for Business and Government my territory covered the majority of western NSW so I was able to move home to Parkes in 1995.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I knew Telstra would eventually sell my section off so I studied real estate two nights per week and started with Ray White in 1998. I purchased the business in 2006 and expanded in 2011 to open in Forbes and Condobolin. I enjoy being able to promote Parkes first and then property, and especially enjoy meeting new people and sometimes we even get to make property dreams come true.

What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Gardening and spending time with my friends and family. I also volunteer for Wires and right now I have two tiny wallaby joeys and two wollaroos. I enjoy going to Rotary and spending time with happy and positive people.

What are you really good at? I’m good at studying and have recently completed my masters degree in Business Administration. I am working on more tertiary and work-based studies.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? To make people be kind. With more empathy in the world we could each put ourselves in another’s shoes before making judgement or taking action that might hurt another.

What is your pet hate? Dealing with regret is the absolute worst! My goal is to always consider others and to try my absolute best at all times… then there is very little to regret to deal with.