James received the award at the 2022 Audi Foundation - CEF Alumni Awards event at Vibe Hotel Canberra, Saturday, October 22.

James was recognised for sticking to his goals.

Working through his mechanical apprenticeship at Best Automotive, he has pursuing further accreditation in air conditioning and now, electrical vehicle maintenance, to establishing his own mobile mechanical business.

As a 20 year old James has taken on many challenges, and with support from family, his school, his past employers, Paul and Natasha Best, and CEF of Grenfell, he is now running his own business with a clear sense of purpose and strong work ethic.

James was also one of two finalists for the Audi Foundation - CEF Alumnus of the Year, an amazing recognition amongst the 55 nominations. This was won by Elise Prior from the Kapunda foundation in South Australia. She completed a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), is the co-author of two peer-reviewed journal articles, 2019 Adelaide Graduate Award recipient and now works at the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Other Grenfell recipients were nominated: Audi Foundation - CEF Rising Star - Jessica Pereira, Ethan Skinner and Heather Walker; and Audi Foundation - CEF Community Alumni Champion - Grace Kelly.

After two years of online events due to the pandemic, the excitement to celebrate the achievements of regional youth was clear with 55 nominations and over 140 people in attendance.

CEF Alumni Program Manager Emma Burns said the response to this year's event was overwhelming.

"We are humbled that the opportunity we provide to recognise our past and present recipients has been so well received."

CEF of Grenfell are very excited about all our recipients' achievements, and how each small step is part of the bigger picture. Saturday's event celebrated the power of the foundation in bringing about positive change. Congratulations James, it is a wonderful achievement. Congratulation also to Jessica, Grace, Heather and Ethan.