Faced with the daunting task of selecting a winner out of two outstanding candidates, the panel failed to select a victor because “each was as worthy as the other,” Australia Day committee chairperson Helen Corby told the crowd.

If there were any signs of disappointment surrounding the decision, Canobolas Rural Technology High School student Katie Gorringe and former James Sheahan High student Bridget Flakelar weren’t showing it yesterday.

“It think it’s great, we obviously both deserved it and it was a bit less scary getting up in front of all the people when there were two of us,” Katie said yesterday.

Katie was nominated for Young Citizen of the Year through her exhaustive work as a volunteer dedicated to supporting her fellow students.

She volunteers as a choir teacher at Orange East School, at the St Vincent de Paul charity shop, coached her own under 12 basketball team and was the secretary of the Student Representative Council at Canobolas last year.

“My mother is a bit of an inspiration to me, she has raised six children on her own and has done a remarkable job and that’s taught me you can do anything if you put your mind to it,” she said yesterday.

Bridget was nominated by several teachers from James Sheahan High for her contribution to school leadership, her commitment to dancing and her efforts helping to raise funds for Relay for Life, the Red Shield Appeal and Homes of Hope, a fundraiser for victims of the Asian Tsunami.

“I like doing things that makes other people happy, things that are not just for my benefit,” Bridget said.

Katie hopes to become a police officer while Bridget will spend the next 12 months working and teaching dance to young students.