Ava Del Tufo won the state final of the Lions Youth of The Year Quest hosted by the Forbes and District Lions Club at the Forbes Services Memorial Club on Saturday.
The 17-year-old from Ulladulla High School, was sponsored by the Pambula Merimbula Lions Club. She was an accomplished speaker with a resumé that would do credit to any 50-year-old, and stood out in every category. Ava will next compete in the national final in Hobart on the 8th May.
Ava was one of five contestants for this year’s award: Ragavi Jeyakumar from Pres- byterian Ladies College Armidale; Phoebe McIlwraith from Morisset High School; Charles O’Neill from All Saints College, Bathurst; and Jade Lin from Presbyterian Ladies College Sydney.
The judges were Phyllis Miller, Charles Pecenka from Parkes, Aidan Clarke from Forbes, Stephen King from Red Bend Catholic College and Rochelle Bright, formerly from Canberra and a recent resident of Forbes. The stand-by judge was Will Lawrance, last year’s state winner.
The more than 100 people from around NSW attending were impressed with Forbes. Many commented on how lovely the town looks with our beautiful historic buildings and the well-manicured lawns and walkways around our lake.
By Peter Bright