6th June 2012. Townsville Bulletin

INSPIRING. Determined. Brave. These are just some of the words that have been used to describe 14-year-old Coen Ashton.

On November 22 last year the title Child of Courage was also bestowed upon him at the Pride of Australia National Ceremony.

On that night – which he describes as “awesome” – he also took out the People’s Choice Award for travelling 2000km on a jet ski along the Murray River to raise awareness about organ donation.

A worthy and popular recipient, the young cystic fibrosis sufferer continues to wait for a double lung transplant and when well enough, talks about the importance of organ donation.

“I still go to hospital every two to three weeks for a week or two,” says Coen, “but when I can I’ve been doing talks through Rotary and I’ve been trying to raise awareness through Transplant Australia and Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation. I just try to help out where I can and when I can.”

Now in its eighth year, Pride of Australia 2012 launched on Sunday.

This community initiative aims to focus on Australians who, like Coen, do extraordinary things throughout our communities. They are our family, friends and community members who inspire us through their selfless actions, but whose actions often aren’t recognised.

The 10 Pride of Australia categories that you can nominate people for are: Outstanding Bravery, Courage, Heroism, Community Spirit, Child of Courage, Young Leader, Care and Compassion, Inspiration, Environment and Fair Go.

At the time of the National Ceremony Coen and his family – parents Mark and Dawn, and brother Kai, 7 – had just moved to Melbourne from Maryborough, to be closer to a hospital.

Next term Coen’s looking forward to returning to school on a part-time basis for the first time in four years and the family remains optimistic.

“He’s doing really well,” says Dawn, “The best thing is that he’s managed to remain stable since the Pride of Australia ceremony. We’re really happy that his health hasn’t declined since then. It gives us time to find a donor.”

To become an organ donor visit Coen’s website at www.murraycodd.com

Proudly partnered by Network Ten, supported by the Townsville Bulletin and now in its eighth year, the Pride of Australia medals celebrate ordinary Australians who do extraordinary things.

Visit prideofaustralia.com.au for the full list of 10 categories and tell us in 200 words why your nominee deserves a medal. Nominations close Tuesday, July 3.

Go to facebook.com.au/prideofaustraliamedal or follow @prideofoz on twitter to see other outstanding nominees from around the country.