Lorne Victoria Australia
Known for his personal hands-on and passionate contribution to the day-to-day life of Lorne, Peter Spring has been named joint recipient of Surf Coast Shire’s Citizen of the Year award.
The other recipient was frack-free Moriac lobbyist Alison Marchant. The Citizen of the Year Award recognises people who have made outstanding contributions to the community.
Peter and Jan Spring (photo supplied by SCS)
Since Peter and his wife Jan (pictured) first became permanent residents of Lorne almost 15 years ago, they have firmly committed to the town by membership of numerous clubs and associations.
Always one to be conscious of a town’s ever changing needs and profile, Peter’s vision of Lorne’s future resulted in many of the changes over the last few years.
Friend and Chair of the Committee for Lorne, Ian Stewart, said it was almost impossible to accurately describe the contributions Peter has made but his current responsibilities provide a good idea of his community involvement.
He is Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Lorne, chair of the Lorne Community Arts and Cultural Foundation and the Stribling Reserve Committee of Management, Board Member of the Spirit Foundation, treasurer of the Lorne Business & Trading Association, an executive of the Lorne Historical Society and a committee member of the Point Grey Reference Group.
In the past he was chair of the Lorne Community Association and chair of the Lorne Aquatic Project.
“Peter’s contributions to Lorne and wider Surfcoast community form an impressive list, but it not just the titles that he carries that makes him so special – it’s the work and hours he devotes to achieving the combined organisational goals,” Ian Stewart said.
“Peter was instrumental in the formation of the Casey Tutungi Future Fund, then oversaw its morphing into the ‘Spirit Foundation’ as it is known today, originally formed to provide a range of benefits to former local footballer Casey Tutungi (he became a quadriplegic following a tragic football accident) and his family.
“Peter was also heavily involved in fund raising and providing financial aid through the ‘Spirit Foundation’ following the 2015/16 Wye River bushfires,” Ian added.
Born in Ballarat, Peter studied and later applied newly emerging computer technology skills to business applications. He established a computer software business in the late 1970s that successfully grew to having offices in most capital cities in Australia.
While working as CEO for this business, Peter became involved in community based organisations. He was the inaugural chair of the Whitehorse Business Group
in 1996. In 1998, he was asked by the then Minister for Immigration, to chair an investigative committee to report on the need for a Migrant Information Centre in Eastern Melbourne to support the needs of newly arrived migrants and refugees.
The Centre was established with Federal assistance and Peter was appointed inaugural chair, a position he held for five years.
Following its success in Australia, the business operation was acquired by a company in the United States.
Peter and Jan lived and worked in Chicago for a year before returning to Australia and retiring to Lorne.
Prior to coming to Lorne the family had lived in Warrandyte, in outer Melbourne; Peter and Jan have two children, Chris, a builder who built their present home in Lorne and Elissa, a banking executive. They also have five grandchildren of whom there are extremely proud.
“Lorne is such a great place to live and it is such an amazing community. We couldn’t be anywhere else now”, Peter said.
Sources:
- Lorne Independent February 2017, article by Ian Stewart
