An unwavering passion for the Mungindi community and 11 years of dedicated service to local government has seen Moree Plains Shire councillor Sue Price recognised on the Australia Day 2019 honours list.
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Cr Price has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her service to local government and the community of Mungindi.
“When I first found out that I had been nominated I really couldn't believe it,” she told The Moree Champion.
“The fact that someone had thought to nominate me was very humbling. When I received the notification that the Governor General had approved my nomination I was overwhelmed, excited and extremely honoured.”
Among her community involvement, Cr Price has been a member of the Mungindi Show Ladies Auxiliary since 1984; she was a founding member of the Mungindi Little Athletics (which she was involved in from 1987 to 2002), the Mungindi Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society, Mungindi Town Choir and the Mungindi Progress Association of which she was treasurer from 1998 to 2010; she was an executive member of the Mungindi Central School P&C Association from 1989 to 2002; held various roles within the Mungindi Swimming Club; was a past honourary treasurer of Mungindi Music Festival; was treasurer of Arts North West; and is the current president of the Mungindi Memorial Hall and Mungindi Community Technology Centre.
She has also been heavily involved in the Mungindi Anglican Church, as an organist since 1981, treasurer since 2000 and Parish Warden since 2005.
Cr Price was a teacher for 20 years, retiring in 2009. However, she still teaches piano, which she’s done since 1979.
The former teacher’s involvement in the Mungindi community stemmed from a desire to provide her children with the same opportunities as those in larger communities.
“When my husband Glen and I moved to Mungindi in 1982 it was our decision to live and work in this wonderful community and we have had a wonderful life in Mungindi,” she said.
“However, when our children came along and I gave up full time teaching, I didn't want our children to miss out on many of the things that were available in larger communities.
“As a result I became very involved in Little Athletics, Swimming Club, and the Mungindi Central P&C.
“This led to my involvement in other community organisations such as the Mungindi Musical and Dramatic Society, St James Anglican Church, Mungindi Music Festival, the Mungindi Choir and later when the children were older the Mungindi Progress Association.
“I became involved in all these organisations because I wanted to help make the Mungindi community a better place for everyone to live and work.”
When Cr Price’s children left school, she decided to take her community involvement to another level, and stood for local government.
She became a Moree Plains Shire councillor in 2008, and has continued to serve the shire in the same capacity ever since.
The same year she became a councillor, Cr Price was also voted deputy mayor, a role she held until 2016.
Cr Price has relished her time in local government and is particularly passionate about anything to do with Mungindi, roads projects and the Inland Rail.
She is the chair and co-founder of the Australian Rural Road Group, is the deputy chair of the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Alliance, and a board member of the Regional Development Australia Northern Inland.
“I became very involved in roads and the Inland Rail, projects which when completed, will have enormous benefits for the whole shire,” she said.
Recently, she was thrilled to find out that council has received $10.5 million to completely seal the Mungindi to Boomi road, a project she has spent years campaigning for.
Another notable achievement was being part of the team that built the Rural Transaction Centre and Community Technology Centre in Mungindi.
“The greatest achievements are sometimes not that obvious,” she said.
“The fact that many children in Mungindi were able to attend Little Athletics, or that children at the Central School had shade shelters were very important at the time.”
Cr Price is also a founding member of the Mungindi Crime Prevention Committee and a founding board member of the Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre.
She said doesn’t do what she does for recognition. For her, it’s all about giving back to the community, and meeting some wonderful people along the way.
“The thing I enjoy about being involved in community organisations is the people you become involved with and also the satisfaction of seeing the results of your achievements at a very local level,” she said.
“Anything I have ever undertaken in the community has been about a perceived need that I have recognised, never about recognition.
“The fact that someone in my community has thought enough about what I have done to nominate me for this amazing award makes me feel extremely honoured and satisfied.”
Cr Price would like to thank her family for all the support they have given her over the years, particularly her husband Glen, as well as the Mungindi community.
“I have been extremely lucky to have a very supportive family who have allowed me to be very involved in these many organisations,” she said.
“I couldn't have achieved this without the amazing support of my husband, Glen, who often had to find a practical way to implement my ideas.
“I am also thankful for the Mungindi community and the people who have nominated me for this award.
“We have a wonderful community and need to continue working to make it even better.”
