23 Movers and shakers of 2023 Part 1: Local identities and characters who helped shape the year in Geraldton

It’s the people which make a city, a community, a town feel like home. And the people of Geraldton have had a big year, weathering many ups and downs along the way, achieving success in a diverse range of fields and punching above their weight in many. In part 1, the Geraldton Guardian presents its list of 23 movers and shakers of 2023— citizens who have had an influential year and helped shape the year that was in Geraldton. JERRY CLUNE Jerry Clune has a well-earned spot on the list after he shook up the council, dethroning Geraldton’s mayor of eight years Shane Van Styn. A last-minute submission to an already colourful mayoral race saw then-deputy Clune boot his superior out of the top job, to many people’s surprise. The farmer and council veteran won by 285 votes through the preferential voting system which was introduced this year. It was a change that no one saw coming, but the community responded with immense support. Publicly outspoken on being a “less exciting” mayor for the City, Mr Clune was right. We’re yet to see him publish any strongly worded Facebook posts. SHANE VAN STYN It was definitely an up-and-down year for the former mayor of Greater Geraldton. On a personal note, the biggest highlight was getting down on one knee at Batavia Brewing Company to propose to his partner Jazzlyn Leonard. Thankfully, she said yes. At the helm of the council, it was a busy time with the completion of the Aquarena outdoor pool, progressing the Spalding revitalisation project and a budget in surplus with a 3 per cent rate rise. Most people expected Mr Van Styn to be a shoe-in for a third term at the October local government elections, but when deputy mayor Mr Clune threw his hat in the ring the voters of Geraldton had a viable alternative. But it still came as a shock when Mr Clune narrowly defeated Mr Van Styn after preferences were distributed. But he’s already signalled his interest in State politics, so watch this space. LARA DALTON Lara Dalton is now almost three years into her first four-year term as Geraldton MLA. Undoubtedly, her 2023 political highlight would have been the decision to award the tender to build the Geraldton Health Campus redevelopment, even though most would agree it was way beyond overdue. Ms Dalton was also one of several female MPs who bravely stood up in Parliament and shared their own personal stories during the debate for abortion law reforms. So 2024 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for the local pollie. Ms Dalton has already signalled her intention to run for a second term at the March 2025 election, but rest assured, this time she won’t have the advantage of a phenomenally popular premier to fall back on, like Mark McGowan was in Labor’s 2021 landslide. One suspects the 2025 election will be an entirely different beast. JOSH KENNEDY If last year was about endings for Josh Kennedy, 2023 has been about beginnings and returning to his roots. After hanging up the boots on a legendary career in the AFL, Kennedy moved back home to Northampton where his journey began. In his first year of retirement, Kennedy has become a man of many talents. His charity, the JK Foundation, supports aspiring athletes in the Mid West by helping them with travel costs and providing mentorship. He was also nominated for the 2023 West Australian of the Year for helping guide young players and his work in multiple community programs. On the business side, the West Coast Eagle legend launched Beyond Distilling alongside former teammate Chris Masten, creating his trademark JK17 Gin. He also proved he’s not done with footy, lacing up again for his boyhood club, the Northampton Rams. He played one game alongside West Coast premiership teammate Mark LeCras ahead of the JK Foundation Cup, before helping the Rams in their finals run, which led them to breaking a 19-year premiership drought. NADEEM TURKIA Nadeem Turkia’s dream of opening his own restaurant came about by pure serendipity. All it took was one dinner, which the Jordanian-Syrian refugee cooked for a group of locals while he was on holiday in Geraldton, for strangers to offer him an interest-free loan. Last year, he opened the doors to Laian, which has won rave reviews far and wide. This year has been another big year for Turkia, which has seen him cement Laian and his Middle Eastern menu with a twist in the Geraldton culinary scene. Turkia also featured on a SBS episode of The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, a former MasterChef winner. To top off the year, Laian was recognised as one of the top 100 restaurants in the State by the WA Good Food Guide. Fusing his Middle Eastern culinary senses with local produce, the guide declares Turkia’s menu is “inspired food from a chef who cooks from the heart. No wonder Geraldton has embraced him.” NADENE BURCHELL You may not have heard the name Nadene Burchell — yet — but out of all the moments experienced by Geraldton locals in 2023, Burchell’s No.1 is up there with anyone else’s. The lead singer of Perth indie pop/rock band King Ibis grew up developing her passion for music playing pub and festival gigs in Geraldton and as a student at Nagle Catholic College. In November, Burchell and her band were hand-picked by global mega-stars Coldplay to be one of their two supporting acts for their Optus Stadium concerts. Burchell recalled how the nerves and anticipation transformed into “euphoria” once they hit the stage. A personal meeting and thank you from Chris Martin and co. at the after-party was icing on the cake. How do you top that? HOLDEN SHEPPARD Although his book Invisible Boys has been out for more than four years, this Geraldton-born and raised, award-winning author has had a lot happen in 2023. For example, Stan Australia gave the green light to turn his novel into a television series to be filmed in Geraldton and Perth early next year. His debut book also landed its first foreign rights sale and will be translated into French for publication in Europe next year, while he begins planning for his fourth novel — a sequel to Invisible Boys — after being granted $25,000 from the Minderoo Foundation Artist Fund. This is all while he completed a draft for his third novel Time Bomb, which is expected to be released in 2025. The proud gay man also appeared in the line-up for Sydney World Pride 2023 and was profiled in a new book Prudish Nation, a non-fiction release about LGBTQIA+ identities in an Australian context. RUSSELL HURST Sen Sgt Russell Hurst oversees much of the policing in the youth crime space, and since relocating to Geraldton this year, has worked hard to improve the relationships between retailers and police. Building those connections has boosted business confidence to report petty theft and stand up to repeat offenders by barring them from their stores. Earlier this year, Sen. Sgt Hurst introduced Shop Watch, a platform for retailers to communicate with police and other retailers in real time when something or someone seems a bit dodgy, streamlining the reporting process and creating quicker response times. Barring notices also came into effect, giving police power to charge repeat shoplifters with trespass if they return to the store. The senior cop is also a handy basketball player, dropping 53 points in his first game for Chapman Valley. DAYLE JOSEPH He knows ball and has proved it time and time again on the biggest stage. While you will rarely see him crack a smile on the sideline, Dayle Joseph’s grin sure was big when his side won it all. No stranger to the basketball scene in Geraldton, Joseph coaches his players to become the best versions of themselves. After winning the championship in 2019, the Buccs roster was gutted and forced to start again, but Joseph turned it around quickly, taking the side to a grand final just two years later. While they fell short at the finish line in 2022, the back-to-back NBL1 West coach of the year got the team back there to win it all this year. When he isn’t coaching some of the best talent in the State, Joseph is at the helm of the women’s division one Pumas team, who have become the best side in the comp. EMMA GARLETT One of the strongest voices to come out of Geraldton this year was Emma Garlett, a Nyiyaparli Yamatji-Nyungar woman who has been a fierce change-maker and advocate for Indigenous affairs. The former-lawyer is now a columnist for The West Australian and a legal academic at Curtin University. Aboriginal affairs have dominated the news cycle and political landscape this year, with cultural heritage laws and the Voice to Parliament creating waves and division and being the subjects of many brave family dinner table conversations. Ms Garlett offered considered and informed commentary on all issues, coming from a place of indisputable knowledge, experience and passion on Indigenous affairs. JUDD McVEE Geraldton watched on with pride as Judd McVee, one of our own, experience a debut AFL season to remember. After going through the national draft without being picked, McVee let the teams that passed on him pay when he got into the league through the 2021 rookie draft. Melbourne gave him a chance, and after playing in their VFL premiership side in 2022, McVee debuted in round one this year. The humble defender played every game for the Demons this year, and although he might not have received the recognition that other rookies have, he quietly earned his spot among the best in Melbourne’s impressive back line. He won a rising star nomination in round 18, shared the club’s young player of the year award and played in two finals. With a foundation like that, his role will hopefully only continue to grow and next season will be donning the club’s famous No. 4, Norm Smith’s old number. TYSON OVERSTONE A Scarborough man turned to Geraldton with his wife, bringing a piece of their party life with them to light up the Mid West’s festival scene. Tyson Overstone, the 2022 Mid West Business Person of the Year, has contributed to many local events, including the return of the hugely successful Blessing of the Fleet, Back Roads Gravel Event and has assisted in bringing a new community movement, Cold Nips, to Geraldton. Sweet Orange Productions ran its third Valley Groove music festival, showcasing interstate artists at one of the Mid West’s most renowned locations. Mr Overstone was voted on to the Regional Sounds board and was the operations manager for Shore Leave 2023. There’s no local community event too big or small for Mr Overstone to support, from the sold out Kalbarri Seroja Gala to the return of Headspace Colour Run and surf and skate events. PART 2 of 23 MOVERS & SHAKERS OF ‘23: Friday, January 5 edition of the Geraldton Guardian