Butch Lenton Award nominations are now open

The $10,000 Peak Services Butch Lenton Bush Council Innovation Award was launched at the 2017 LGAQ Annual Conference to recognise and celebrate innovation in Queensland’s bush councils and pay tribute to the late Mayor of Winton Shire, Graham ‘Butch’ Lenton, and the contributions he made to his beloved community and to Queensland local government as a whole.

The award winner will be announced on Tuesday 26 October at the LGAQ Annual Conference Gala in Mackay, and winners are also showcased every two years as part of the Bush Councils Convention. 

Peak Services is the proud sponsor of the award and provides the $10,000 bursary which is awarded to the recipient.

Burke Shire Council won the award in 2020 for its innovative use of virtual reality technology to overcome pandemic-related travel bans. Council used its $10,000 bursary to fund a licensing agreement to help make virtual reality training more widely available in the community. Read more about Burke’s project and watch their empowering video here

In 2019, the winner of the award was Cr Kathy Duff from the South Burnett Regional Council for the Proston Community Revival Project. Kathy is passionate about supporting country towns and as a Proston local and councillor she wanted to use the bursary to refurbish the shopfronts in Proston’s main street to revitalise the town and attract new businesses and customers.

The inaugural award in 2018, was won by Deputy CEO Brett Walsh from Barcaldine Regional Council for a study tour of the United States of America to discover how small rural communities are adopting smart growth opportunities to ensure their future survival, then translating the findings into opportunities for western Queensland communities.

Applications now closed for 2021. Check back in July 2022.