{"id":373139,"date":"2026-06-12T14:15:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T04:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=373139"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T04:15:15","slug":"rosie-wins-national-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/06\/12\/rosie-wins-national-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosie Wins National Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
KDCCAI founder Rosie Fitzgerald with NSA founder Everald Compton AO (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 12, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kilkivan District Community Care Association Inc (KDCCAI) founder Rosie Fitzgerald has been presented with the prestigious Everald Compton Community Champion Medal by National Seniors Australia.<\/p>\n

The national award received nominations from across Australia.<\/p>\n

Rosie was recognised for her tireless work to improve the experience of ageing for residents in Kilkivan to stay connected and “age in place” rather than move to larger centres away from family and friends.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The KDCCAI was founded in 2020.<\/p>\n

Since then it has established hubs to strengthen social connections for seniors and bought a minivan to transport residents to medical appointments and social activities.<\/p>\n

Under Rosie’s leadership, the KDCCAI also bought the former St Kevin’s Catholic Church building in Kilkivan for use in its ageing-in-place project and as a community hub.<\/p>\n

The KDCCAI also partnered with University of the Sunshine Coast researchers to co-design and pilot a dementia caregiver support program as well as other initiatives.<\/p>\n

NSA founder Everald Compton AO said that, too often, older Australians were cast aside.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“But they\u2019re an asset and shouldn\u2019t be ignored. Rosie, and all nominees, are shining examples of the difference older Australians make to their communities through humble, selfless and inspirational work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRosie embodies everything the medal represents including impact on the community, inclusivity and accessibility, leadership and inspiration, and dementia care and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rosie with Sophie Andrews, from UniSC’s Thompson Institute, who nominated her for the award … Sophie has overseen the implementation of 10 co-designed carers’ support workshops in Kilkivan (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rosie with with of the judges, South Australian MP Rebekha Sharkie (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kilkivan District Community Care Association Inc founder Rosie Fitzgerald has been presented with the prestigious Everald Compton Community Champion Medal by\u00a0National Seniors Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":373140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[168],"yoast_head":"\nRosie Wins National Award - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kilkivan District Community Care Association Inc (KDCCAI) founder Rosie Fitzgerald has been presented with the prestigious Everald Compton Community Champion Medal by\u00a0National Seniors Australia.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/06\/12\/rosie-wins-national-award\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rosie Wins National Award - 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