It was this type of thinking and commitment from Ann Furner which made the Yenda skate park such an overwhelming success.

The park was recognised as Griffith's Community Project of the Year, at the official Australia Day awards ceremony.

Ms Furner was the driving force behind the immensely popular park's construction, and attended the ceremony to collect the award.

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"I'm excited, and just so happy for the community of Yenda to see our project acknowledged," she said.

Since construction on the park finalised in August, it has consistently been a safehaven for Griffith's youth.

"I do drive-bys every now and then to check if there are people there," Ms Furner said.

"There's always either a couple people or even a big group there enjoying it. It's absolutely wonderful to see."

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"Before school and after school it is extremely popular. And the kids are not only using the skate park, they're using the whole park to play touch football or red rover cross over."

Ms Furner dedicated the award to the Yenda community, who came together to bring the plans to fruition.

"The Yenda community have got behind it right from the start. Pretty much as soon as the petition was put together, we had over 400 signatures."

"It's for Yenda as a whole," she said.

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