Ms Wilson owns Town and Country Rural Supplies, but it was her decades of community work that earned her the honour.

She has coordinated the Royal Bathurst Showgirl Competition for a number of years and two years ago took over the running of the Young Rural Achiever Awards.

In her early years in Bathurst, Ms Wilson was part of various groups, including Quota, and has continued to support the community through her business. 

When her name was called out at Thursday’s ceremony, cheers erupted from the audience of past winners, nominees, family and friends.

“I’m lost for words,” Ms Wilson said.

“The other nominees, they are just wonderful people.”

She said she was very thankful to be part of a community like Bathurst, which has shown her a lot of support over the years.

“We do have a wonderful community, we live in a wonderful community and we have a wonderful group of volunteers and we are very blessed, because it’s the volunteers that make Bathurst,” Ms Wilson said. 

The 2018 Jack Aubin Young Citizen of the Year was also announced at the ceremony on Thursday.

The deserving recipient of the honour was Caroline Harvey, the school captain of Denison College Kelso.

Caroline is the secretary of her school’s leadership team and participates in many community events, including Clean Up Australia Day and the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. 

She was unable to attend the ceremony, but will be part of Bathurst’s Australia Day celebrations in January.