‘Rhubarb’ is top citizen

By Shaun Inguanzo
THIS year’s winner of the Greater Dandenong Australia Day Citizen of the Year award is both a community leader and an accomplished clown.
Helen Heath, 54, is the president of Greater Dandenong’s Interfaith Network, which is a group of religious leaders working together to achieve community harmony.
Ms Heath said the volunteer role was almost full-time, with a vast number of tours of the city’s religious buildings conducted for a variety of groups, including schoolchildren.
Ms Heath said she was overwhelmed to have been announced Citizen of the Year, but added that her work with Interfaith was a team effort, and that she would not have been the recipient without the existence of the network.
But when Ms Heath is not working towards building bridges between Greater Dandenong’s religious and spiritual groups, she can be found clowning around as Rhubarb Ms Heath’s alter ego.
“I always wanted to do it. I was going to run away and join the circus, but never did,” laughed Ms Heath.
Ms Heath said the thesis for her recently completed Bachelor in Theology, with honours, was on the spirituality and pastoral care of clowning.
“Clowning crosses cultures,” she said. “All people can laugh when they see a clown.”
But will Rhubarb make an appearance at this year’s Australia Day ceremony?
“Someone dared me to do it, but I don’t know,” Ms Heath chuckled.
“I do think (Rhubarb) is behind a bit of this (award).”
Other winners include Senior Citizens of the Year Maria and Ernie Mastronianni, who are the first husband and wife team to win the award, for their work with community groups such as Meals on Wheels and University of the Third Age (U3A).
The Young Citizen of the Year honour was given to Rachel Monty for her work as the chairwoman of the Musos Network.