At the recent City of Mitcham Australia Day Awards ceremony, the Young Citizen of the Year William (Billy) Russell said the following “I‟d like to give a special mention to Riding for the Disabled Association South Australia as I had problems with my balance and muscle development when I was younger. This was caused by me suffering a stroke inside of my mum be- fore I was born. The doctors even said that I might not survive but I did. They also said that I would not walk or talk but hey, look at me now I‟m doing both perfectly right now. RDA SA gave me the courage to meet new people, helped with my development and at the same  

time enjoy the hands on experience with a horse. I‟d just thought they were really tall dogs when I first started riding them.” He received his award for his tireless campaigning for the rights of young people to be themselves without the fear of bullying or discrimination, and for establishing the Teen Support Network which provides online support for bullied young people. Good on you Billy, who is the grandson of Board member Julie (pictured above with Billy are Mayor Michael Picton and Edga Agius, Australia Day Ambassador)