RECOGNISING DANDENONG’S YOUNG ACHIEVER

A local Dandenong business owner, Dale Barnett, will be recognised for his outstanding contributions to the community at the 2017 Victorian Young Achiever Awards gala presentation dinner on Friday, 26 May.

The awards acknowledge and celebrate the leadership, skills and contribution of young people aged between 11 and 29 in a diverse range of fields across Victoria, with one of the category winners to become the 2017 Victorian Young Achiever of the Year.

Dale Barnett, 29, is a finalist for the WFI Insurance Small Business Achiever Award.

Dale is the founder and Director of Biofuel Innovations in Dandenong South, where he has created a sustainable biotechnology process to turn waste cooking oil into biodiesel. A chemical engineer by trade, Dale learnt basic welding and electrical work to assist with the plant construction. Biofuel Innovations generates $2.4 million revenue annually. Dale provides a course-accredited internship program for university students. Biofuel Innovations was selected as the Face of Small Business in the 2016 Small Business Festival Victoria.

The Andrews Labor Government is a proud supporter of the Victorian Young Achiever Awards and has provided $16,500 to sponsor the Victorian Government Group Achievement in the Community Award. This award recognises young people who have worked together to provide a service, program or project for young people that has resulted in positive, youth-led changes in a local community

Awards Patron, Minister for Youth Affairs, Jenny Mikakos, will present both the Victorian Government Group Achievement in the Community Award and the 2017 Victorian Young Achiever of the Year Award at the gala dinner on Friday, 26 May.

The nine award categories include:

 

The Victorian Government Group Achievement in the Community Award

Bart ‘N’ Print Health and Wellbeing Award

Bartercard Online Achievement Award

CFA Volunteer Excellence Award

First National Real Estate Leadership Award

Saward Dawson Community Service and Social Impact Award

The Coffee Club Arts and Fashion Award

Victoria University Research Impact Award

WFI Insurance Small Business Achiever Award