Ms Clarke received a spate of awards honouring her work in leading a revival of Goolgowi and promoting mental health awareness around the area. She received the Murray Woman of the Year, as well as a community recognition award and a recognition statement in parliament.

Over the last year, Ms Clarke has been at the forefront of mental health efforts in Goolgowi, after a devastating mental health crisis hit the town. She organised a meeting for the town to address the issues it was facing, as well as organising Manly rugby league player Joel Thompson to speak to the town as part of his Mindset project.

MP Helen Dalton presented the awards outside her office, praising Ms Clarke for her groundbreaking work.

"Marie's a fantastic person. She identified a need and followed through on it... she's a living treasure."

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For her part, Ms Clarke was honoured to accept the awards but isn't slowing down any time soon. She announced at the event that work had officially begun on her current project, refurbishing the old council rooms into a community centre and pushing for counselling services to be available at the centre.

"I'm honoured, but I'm not doing it for recognition. It's about raising awareness and eliminating stigma. Mental health is invisible, it can affect anyone." Ms Clarke said.

Currently, Ms Clarke is raising funds to pay for counselling services to be available in Goolgowi, but is having trouble securing grants.

"It's hard since I don't know all the costs, it makes it hard to apply for grants... they want minutes from meetings and things, but I don't have meetings! It's just me."

In an effort to get more funds, Ms Clarke is organising the "Full Monty" event in October, with support from the community at an all-time high. She's planning to start selling tickets to the event in the next few months.

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