The Pride of Australia Medal aims to honour everyday Australians, the unsung heroes in our communities making extraordinary contributions to the Australian way of life and not always getting the acknowledgment they deserve.

These people are not high-profile Australians. They might be a friend, workmate, neighbour, your child’s teacher, the local police officer or fire

fighter or simply someone who has made your community a better place to live.

The awards are made up of ten categories that celebrate and honour values and attributes like bravery, courage, leadership, community spirit, mateship, fair play, tolerance, hard work and

generosity.

Nominations are judged by a panel of local

community leaders and senior representatives

from News Limited newspapers.

“It is very exciting and a real honour, it was such a surprise,” Tania said.

Tania said it was also nice to be nominated for her work in the area of mental illness as it also helps in raising awareness of the disease.

Tania will attend the awards in Sydney on October 8.

Tania is one of three finalists in the courage

category. She was nominated for her efforts in

raising awareness about depression and reducing the stigma often associated with mental illness.

Tania staged an incredibly successful forum on depression in Cootamundra, which attracted a huge audience and high profile guest speakers.

The forum encouraged those suffering from depression to stand up and seek help.

Tania is also the leader of a support group for people recovering from eating disorders. The group meets in Wagga each month.

Tania said she finds this work incredibly

rewarding. She told the Cootamundra Herald she has always wanted to do something for people

suffering with, or recovering from, an eating

disorder.

“If I can help them in some way, then it’s worth it,” Tania said.

Looking at the other amazing nominees Tania feels humbled.

“I’ve done nothing compared to what other

people have done,” Tania said.

In saying that Tania said coming through a

mental illness is pretty difficult.

“Mental illness is not as recognisable as a

physical illness, because you can’t see it but it is just as debilitating,” Tania said.