ACTOR and activist Alex Jones is the Tenterfield Australia Day Ambassador and will be part of a packed day of celebrations.
Born deaf to deaf parents, Alex Jones is an over achiever.
He studied theatre professionally at New York University and then was recruited by the Australian Theatre of the Deaf in 1997.
As an actor, he has appeared on a number of stage productions, films and television and has provided consulting services to the film/TV industry here in Australia and abroad.
In 2003 Alex co-founded with Tony Abrahams an innovative and social-enterprise company, Ai-Media, to deliver captioning services for broadcasters.
They have also developed a ground-breaking technology called Ai-Live that brings captioning into new environments that was unheard of a few years ago to classrooms, workplaces, conferences and events.
Alex is currently on the board of People with Disability Australia and Deaf Sports Australia. He has also served as an ambassador for the NSW ‘Don’t DIS my ABILITY’ campaign for the International Day of People with Disability in NSW for six years and is one of the NSW Australia Day ambassadors for the last four years.
He is a very proud father to two beautiful boys, one of whom is deaf. It has always been Alex’s passion to see that deaf people are given unlimited opportunities to live their life to their fullest potential without any barriers.
The celebrations will be held in the Tenterfield Memorial Hall and kick off with the Ministers Fraternal Church Service at 8am followed by light breakfast on the deck of the RSL Pavilion.
The volunteers from 2TenFM will provide the main catering for the breakfast and this year will be serving a menu ranging from pancakes with maple syrup to bacon and egg or sausage sandwiches. The ladies of the CWA will provide tea and coffee plus a selection of their home cooked, yummy biscuits and cake.
The Civic Welcome and Awards Ceremony begin at 9am.
In recognition of the Centenary of Anzac, the Tenterfield Light Horse Troop (unfortunately without horses) will conduct the flag raising ceremony and the ambassador’s address will be based on this theme.
Entertainment will be provided by the Tenterfield Physical Culture Club, featuring Miss Stacey Hayne, winner of the Young Sportsperson of the Year Award in both 2013 and 2014 for her achievements in physical culture, including winning the title of national champion in her section in Australia 2013. The group will also include Mrs Jessica Gibbins, winner of the 2014 Sportsperson of the Year Award.
The ceremony will end around 11am to the strains of the pipes and drums of the Tenterfield Highlanders Pipe Band.