John Nicolaou received the COTA Victorian Senior Achiever Award at the 2013 Victorian Senior of the Year Awards presented at Government House last week. John was nominated by Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre – the Northern Federation of Ethnic Senior Citizens Clubs – and supported by Jenny Mikakos MP for his volunteer work with older Victorians from CALD backgrounds and in particular with those from the Greek community.
John has been president of the Reservoir Greek Elderly Citizens Club, which has more than 200 members, for many years. While he undertakes many tasks in association with this role, one of the simplest and most positive initiatives has been his establishment of walking groups – he has set up more than 30 of these groups. He has been actively involved with the Darebin Ethnic Community Council for 10 years and the Northern Federation of Ethnic Senior Citizen Clubs president for 14 years, and has served on many council committees. John is a motivated and active volunteer, working to overcome isolation and mobility issues facing older residents.