Awards honour visionary Ray Grace

Left: Award winner Eden Coombes, left, with Woombye Community Bank chair Stephen Marshall, Alex Borthwick and ‘JJ’ Wedderburn-Maxwell.

Renowned local businessman and community worker Ray Grace  passed away in October last year. As the driving force and founding member of the Woombye Community Bank, the bank’s current board wanted to honour Mr Grace’s memory.

So they decided to create an Award to encourage children to be community-minded. Hence the Ray Grace Bendigo Bank Woombye Community Award was initiated. It is open to Year 6 students at Woombye State School. The Woombye Community Bank has a franchise agreement with Bendigo Bank.

Bank chair Stephen Marshall told the awards presentation ceremony of the history of the Ray Grace Building which sits on the school property but also served as inspiration for the local bank.

“In 2005 local businessman Ray Grace, with his own funds and without Council approval (not recommended today!) arranged for that same building to be placed on the footpath on the corner of Hill St and Blackall St Woombye.

“Volunteers of the then-proposed bank used this building to share with passers-by their vision for a community bank in order to get a commitment to invest.

“The last time banks were in Woombye was the mid-1950s!

“As a founding director of the Woombye Community Bank Mr Grace was without doubt the driver behind the raising of $700,000 in share investment to enable the bank to open its doors in March 2009. Mr Grace was a very community-minded man. He loved helping people and organisations and this was made possible by his successful businesses.”

Award winner was Eden Coombes. Eden won $250 cash and his nominated community beneficiary, the Woombye Scouts Club, $150.

Alex, JJ and Xaviar, were each awarded a $50 bank account because of their excellent submissions.