Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge and commend Junior Johnson, or the peninsula's answer to Santa Claus, for his dedication to raising funds to purchase presents for children during Christmas. Junior Johnson has been handing out presents to children during Christmas for over 10 years, each year handing out over 150 presents. To raise these funds, during the year, Junior will run a meat raffle at West Street, Umina Beach, which helps cover the cost of buying presents. Junior also raises money to buy Easter eggs. On Christmas Day every year, you can be certain to find Junior on West Street, handing out presents to children who might otherwise go without during the holiday period. If presents run out early and there are still children in need of a gift, Junior often throws in his own funds to ensure no child goes without. Junior says that he does this because nothing makes his Christmas like seeing kids so happy when they receive a present. It picks him up. Along with support from businesses across the peninsula, Junior Johnson says he will continue to donate presents to children until he can no longer.

To Junior: thank you so much for your generosity, your compassion and your community spirit. The peninsula and the Central Coast adore you, and we are all made better by having you in our Central Coast family.

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