Community
4 February, 2026
Congratulations to Team Kimber
POWER couple Gary and Marilyn Kimber were named as the first dual winners of the Corangamite Shire Citizen of the Year Award, recognised for their ongoing dedication to the Cobden community and beyond.
Dubbed ‘Team Kimber’, the pair were honoured to represent their community through countless hours of volunteering across Cobden Rotary Club and University of the Third Age (U3A) Corangamite combined.
The pair are also involved in many other ways, such as through the Cobden Art Group Mrs Kimber is a member of, and they’re always willing to lend a helping hand.
Mr and Mrs Kimber described the moment they were announced as Citizens of the Year as being incredibly humbling.
“I felt incredibly proud and excited,” Mrs Kimber said.
“I was a bit overwhelmed – I was up on stage, they had the lights on in the hall and you could see everyone, it was just, wow,” Mr Kimber said.
“It was all of a sudden real, people were there, people who were equal to us, and it was very powerful, absolutely wonderful.”
Mrs Kimber said the best part of her volunteering work was seeing the impact it had on other people.
“I’ve been organising programs through U3A for ten years and the people that become involved, the members that actually support me directly because they actually turn up, I just love the enjoyment they have,” she said.
“It’s very heart-warming to see that people are enjoying something you’ve organised.
“We sort of have a lot of children, like of all ages, who are involved with the things that we organise.
“You’ve got the little kids that come to the Easter extravaganza right up to the seniors that come to our U3A activities.
“When they leave with a smile on their face it makes you feel good.”
Mr Kimber, who has been a part of Rotary for over 30 years, said being a part of the club was heart-warming.
“Particularly widows or widowers who have lost their partners, who have lost that social connection, programs the U3A organise, which mostly Marilyn does, allows them to come and join and get that sense of community,” he said.
“For me it would have to be Rotary for 30-odd years, providing programs for the community, the mini golf for 25 years, lots of activities and dealing with people and getting them involved, it just warms your heart, it really does.
“You’re not looking for rewards but you feel you’re on the right track.
“They come from all over the shire and beyond as well, and that’s even better.”
The pair have been supporting each other in their endeavours for many years and will be celebrating 50 years of marriage this year.
Mr Kimber said helping each other was a natural part of being together.
“Fifty years married, we’ve survived, and it’s certainly gone across to our volunteering,” he said.
“With U3A, we organise things together to help each other.
“The art group with Marilyn, if they need support I try and give it where I can.
“We’re always there for each other, but we do have our personal space.
“That’s the secret of marriage – you’ve got to have your personal space so you can do the things you want to do.”
Mr Kimber said they have no plans to slow down, with lots on the horizon for them moving forward.
“We feel incredibly proud of each other and what we have achieved but there’s still lots more to come,” he said.
“We’re still only young so we’ll just keep doing what we can.
“Volunteers are becoming harder and harder to find.
“Marilyn said the other day in her speech when talking about volunteering that you don’t have to do everything, you can just do something.
“My goal is to get Rotary larger in number and broaden everything that we do.”
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