The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours list features our region's achievers in a variety of fields including construction, farming, local government, service clubs, veterans activities and the arts.

These awards, like the Australia Day Honours, provide a welcome chance to highlight people and projects that might otherwise go unnoticed.

We congratulate all those awarded the Order of Australia Medal and thank them for their contributions.

Not that the recipients generally think themselves worthy.

Ask what they felt when hearing they had been recognised and common themes emerge – shock, humility, surprise and a little bit of embarrassment.

Beechworth Bakery founder Tom O'Toole even confessed to feeling like a fraud.

None of this is false modesty, but rather an instant and instinctive understanding that, as former Wodonga mayor Rodney Wangman notes, no one person acts alone.

After all, it's community, not solitary, service and those who are singled out waste no time in thanking the people whose support made their achievements possible.

Really, would we have it any other way?

Nobody on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list set out to be named there.

Their journey began more simply, often many years ago, when they followed a passion, saw a need, said yes when asked or themselves did the asking.

Sometimes their activities attract attention but that remains a side issue.

It is their committed and sustained action that we honour now, not any headlines along their travels.

And one method of demonstrating our respect is to follow their example.

Everyone's capacity and situation is different but all of us can find some way to make our community a better place.

Do what you like, like what you do, support others who are trying to make a difference.

To paraphrase several quotes, just because one person can't do everything, don't refuse to do the something you can do.

And as we’re urged to dance like nobody’s watching, let us - like those recognised yesterday - be prepared to serve even if the world at large doesn’t notice.