SHE holds the value of "making Queanbeyan people's final destination", and last week Queanbeyan City Council place management coordinator Tracey Lamont was recognised for her community passion in organising the Queanbeyan Gift athletics carnival.
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The NSW Athletics League awarded Lamont their administrator of the year award after they also named last year's Gift as the 2013/2014 carnival of the year.
A record number of 500 athletes competed in last year's Gift, which is the largest in NSW, and it has now been named carnival of the year for two years running.
It also has the highest prize pool for the women's Gift at $16,000, and is the only Gift carnival in Australia to have equal prize money for men and women.
Lamont's award came in her first year as organiser of the Gift, but she said making the event the biggest of its kind in the state was a team effort.
"The Queanbeyan City Council is to thank, not me," she said.
"It's great to receive awards, and it feels good because we have come so far with the event, but there is so much more to it than me."
"All the volunteers and sponsors that come on board to help us out- it would not be possible without them."
Lamont will be in her second year organising the event this year, and hopes to get in excess of 750 competitors as well as thousands of spectators to it.
Australian Olympians Lauren Wells and Melissa Breen will be back on board as ambassadors, and will also spend time in the Queanbeyan community before racing in the event to help promote Queanbeyan to the rest of NSW and Australia.
Lamont said her passion in her work for the QCC and organising the Gift has always been driven by her dream of making Queanbeyan a more attractive place.
"We don't want people just passing through Queanbeyan to get to Canberra," she said.
"The Gift is such a great economical driver for local businesses in the CBD, and this is the reason we extended it to two days last year."
"We need to do the best with what we've got, and I believe if we continue to grow the Gift and keep it as the biggest athletics carnival in NSW, we can really give Queanbeyan a good name."
"Being named the event of the year for 2013/2014 really is a testament to how successful it is."
Wells has been racing at the Gift for nine years now, winning it in 2008, and said she was looking forward to helping promote the event again this year and building from its 2013 success.
"It's a great event because not only do people get to see Olympic athletes, but they get to see some of the fastest pro runners in the country, they're going to get great competition in every event, and there is the community aspect as well," she said.
Lamont has also been nominated for the Australian Athletics Confederation administrator of the year award, with the winner to be announced in September.