Congratulations Mat - Citizen of the Year!

Mat Bowtell from Free 3D Hands was named Bass Coast Citizen of the Year at a ceremony tonight at the Town Hall in Wonthaggi.

Mat was nominated for his work to provide free protective face shields for front line workers during the Covid pandemic.

Accepting the nomination, Mat said at Free 3D Hands, the question was not "whether we help, but how can we help using the skills and capability we have".

When the award was announced, he said he was "shocked and surprised", given the contribution of his fellow nominees.

 "It's incredible to be part of this community.

"This last year for me has been really special. Thanks to everybody in the community who has helped us deliver these shields."

He also thanked his wife for her support and his team at Free 3D Hands.

Three other Phillip Islanders were nominated for Citizen of the Year: Lija Matthews, Karen Treppo and Mark Underwood. 

Also nominated were Wonthaggi's Everett O'Keeffe and Dave Sutton and Karen Walters from Inverloch.

Young Citizen of the Year was Margaret Sand from Wonthaggi.

A full report from the Citizen of the Year event will be in next week's Advertiser.

Click here to subscribe to our online editions.