In accepting her award, Miriam (Mim) Loomes had many thanks to family and friends who had supported her throughout her years in Canowindra - but she also had some sage advice.

Here’s an edited excerpt of Mim’s thank you speech, she has allowed the Canowindra News to reproduce:

“The 18 year old, cookin' and sewin' teacher who arrived in Canowindra in May 1960 would never have dreamed of such a possibility.

However here we are many years later and the impossibility has become a reality.

I think that I can now call myself a local!

I have always appreciated that Canowindra is a strong country community and it is the people and their efforts that make this town such a great place.

Over time I have marvelled at the intelligence, talents, strengths, hard work and sheer determination of the people that live in this great and productive part of Australia.

It has been the people of our town who have supported our family through good and bad times and we know that this support is extended to many other people.

We need to be thankful for and continue to support our local commercial economy, our caring medical teams, the strong educational institutions, the dedicated church and fantastic sporting and cultural groups that operate within the area.

So much of what makes Australia great is the extra time, effort and skills that people use as volunteers.

"Use it or lose it" was a wonderful catch cry of a fairly famous Cabonne resident a few years ago and I believe that this still applies today.

Recently the local papers highlighted the need for more volunteers in our local area.

Can I suggest that "Use it or lose it" applies here.

There are some many benefits to people of all ages in becoming a volunteer.

You will gain much more than you ever give, simply by volunteering.

I know that many of you here today understand this as I can see many representatives of volunteer groups in the audience.