More than 50 locals today joined Kawana MP Jarrod Bleijie to honour community champions for their tireless work, dedication and community spirit.

The fifth annual Kawana Electorate Queensland Day Community Awards, hosted by Mr Bleijie, celebrated the hard-working volunteers who keep the Kawana community ticking.

The inaugural event was held in 2009 on the back of Queensland Week, with hundreds of local volunteers recognised since.

Mr Bleijie said he was delighted to pay tribute to local volunteers, and to be joined at the event by Kawana Youth Parliamentarian Nicole Hegarty who gave a heart-felt address on the importance of community spirit.

“Often the hard work of volunteers goes unnoticed but without their contribution society would suffer,” Mr Bleijie said.

“We had a strong response to the call for nominations, which shows that community spirit is alive and well in Kawana, and that good deeds don’t go unnoticed locally.”

Recipients of the award include volunteers from local schools, the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Cancer Council, local Scout groups, Neighbourhood Watch groups, seniors associations as well as animal welfare workers.

Miss Hegarty, who is currently at high school on the Coast, said she was pleased to take part in the 2014 Kawana Electorate Queensland Day Community Awards and thank volunteers for their hard work and dedication.

“The value of volunteering is beyond measure, those who volunteer provide extraordinary benefits to the community,” she said.

“Their selfless commitment to their local area as well as their high degree of community involvement is to be commended.”

Mr Bleijie said the awards were a chance for locals to say thanks to their friends and neighbours.

“It was an honour to congratulate our community champions with the Kawana Electorate Queensland Day Community Awards and to join the community in thanking them for the work they do,” he said.