Yass mental health advocate Wayne Stuart has been recognised for his dedication to the community with Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) as part of the Queen's birthday honour roll.
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Mr Stuart said he was stunned to receive the honour.
"It was something that came of out of left field and caught me unawares," he says with a laugh.
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"I am totally surprised and humbled by this award. My first reaction is that I could not be here without the constant support and encouragement of my wife of 50 years. Throughout my life I have tried always to be positive, enjoy life, do my best and help where I can.
To be recognised for doing that is just amazing and I am very grateful."
Mr Stuart's OAM comes largely off the back of his involvement in the Yass Valley Men's Shed, where he was the inaugural secretary and has held that - and other key management positions - within the club ever since.
Mr Stuart continues his involvement in the Men's Shed today and said it was a key pillar for the ageing population of Yass.
"We kicked off in 2008 when the current mayor Allan McGrath was aware and concerned about some of the older residents of Yass and how they were struggling and dealing with loneliness and isolation."
Mr McGrath, then a councillor, called a public meeting and Mr Stuart dived in from the start, joking that plenty of women attended the meeting as well, "probably looking to get their husbands out from under their feet," he said with a laugh.
Membership started small with around 25 members, but has seen nearly 300 people come and go over the years with more than 100 members currently today.
Mr Stuart said the thing he was most proud of was the way the Men's Shed was uniquely it's own.
"There are legitimate, worthwhile and wonderful outreach groups out there, but what the men's shed does is respond to the actual needs of it's members, the shed sets its own agenda - we've made it ourselves," he said.
After working in the public sector for over 40 years, first with the Department of Health, then the Department of Transport in Canberra and later the Australian Maritime Authority.
After his retirement in 2001, Mr Stuart has established and run a very successful organisation dubbed "The Old Salts Club" comprising retired, former and some current members of the organisations in which those colleagues worked over the years going back to the 1970s. The Old Salts Club has been running for more than 20 years and has a membership list of some 280 names.
Members are invited to attend three times yearly lunches to keep in touch, provide mutual support and enjoy recalling "old times". It has had a major spin off benefit in coincidental mental health support for a number of members. An Old Salts Club has also been established in Melbourne.
"People thing public servants are all made of cardboard and very boring, but it's just not true," Mr Stuart said with a laugh.
However, his work on keeping people safe continues to drive his passion to look out for others.
"The big thing in my view is that there are a lot of people in Yass who are suffering from depression or loneliness and the Men's Shed is excellent for that, it's a wonderful social outlet and a place to connect with others," he said.
Mr Stuart said the group had done some wonderful work to support other charity groups, including Lions and BlazeAid during bushfires and other disasters.
As the group's main grant writer, Mr Stuart has helped to secure $100,000 in grant funding and also initiated and coordinated more than $10,000 in donations to communities impacted by drought, fires and floods over the last eight years.