The new award was the innovation of Rotarian Frank Hiscock after it was noted there

were so many people doing great things in the community.

The first award went to Paul Deep after his heroics coming to the aid of an elderly man pinned to the ground and being attacked by a dog outside the Deep’s family business Kevin Deep Clothing and Footwear in the main street.

Mr Deep was chuffed to accept the award and at the time of the attack said he had seen a similar incident so knew what to do.

There was a crowd of people around trying to help, hitting and kicking the dog but they couldn’t stop it,” Mr Deep explained at the time.

Having seen a similar incident in the past Mr Deep jumped in and grabbed the dog by the throat, choking it with every ounce of his strength.

“It’s the only way to get a dog like that to let go,” he added.

The dog let go of its victim and other people gathered around managed to secure it with a rope.

Also recognised as a Good Samaritan was Mick Earnshaw, who saved the day for Rotary prior to the Apex Christmas Carnival by replacing a wheel on Rotary’s barbecue caravan when it came off in transit.

Frank had been towing the caravan near Chamberlain’s Garage when an issue occurred with the wheel and he had to pull over. Mick noticed him stranded by the side of the road and realised he had a wheel which would fit at home so headed off to get it. This meant the Rotary van could be up and running right away rather than Rotarians having to wait days for a replacement wheel to be sourced.

Had they been stranded Rotary would not have made it to the Apex Christmas Carnival and missed out on profits from the day.

The Good Samaritan award will become a fixture of Rotary and will be handed out whenever the group sees fit.

Also recognised at Rotary was local girl Karlie Johnston who accepted the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA).

RYLA is Rotary’s leadership training program for people aged 14 to 30.

RYLA emphasises leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to demonstrate Rotary’s respect and concern for youth, provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders,encourage leadership of youth by youth and recognise publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities.