SHE may be young but age is no barrier for Maggie Heffernan who yesterday became the first 11-year-old to ever be named Indigo Shire’s Young Citizen of the Year.
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The award, which is usually presented to those aged between 16 and 24, was handed to Maggie for making changes in her community at such a young age.
Already she rallied VicRoads to erect safety signs outside Kiewa Valley Primary School and has taken a step to combat bullying by inventing a buddy bench.
The buddy bench is a place for youngsters to sit at the school if they have nobody to play with and Maggie said others in the playground would then strike up a friendship with them.
She is following in her family’s footsteps after her cousin, Imogen Wallace, received the honour on Australia Day in 2013.
“I’m excited and I was really surprised,” Maggie said.
“I just want to do things to help out other people.”
Her mother Annie Heffernan was beaming with pride.
“It is well deserved because she has done a lot over the last 12 months,” she said.
“She could do whatever she wants from here.”
Maggie received the honour for also winning a public speaking competition held by the Kiewa Tangambalanga Lions Club and raising $700 for the Border Relay for Life.
Indigo Shire mayor Bernard Gaffney said even though Maggie was young, she stood out as the deserving recipient.
“She is an ideas person and one who thinks about the community and her school,” he said.
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