The awards ceremony is being held in Taree and will involve recipients from Camden Haven, Forster Pacific Palms, Gladstone, Kempsey, Stroud, South West Rocks, Gloucester, Harrington, Nabiac, Taree City, Port Macquarie, Wauchope and Wingham NSW SES Units.

Fifty nine awards will be presented including honours for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 35 years of service to the NSW SES.

In total, the 48 award recipients have provided 695 years of volunteering to their local communities.

NSW SES Mid North Coast acting region controller Tony Day said, “The awards ceremonies recognise the outstanding contribution and commitment of long serving local SES volunteers to the safety of their communities in times of need.” 

Over the last 12 months, NSW SES Mid North Coast Region Units have responded to over 1,217 requests for assistance within their respective Local Government Areas, equating to 35,119 hours of volunteered service.

Three volunteers will be awarded their 35 year service medals, an achievement obtained by only a select group of people throughout the 62 year history of NSW SES.

Greg Snape (Stroud Unit), Brian Ford (Wingham Unit) and Ray Walkden (Kempsey) all joined the NSW SES back in 1982 and have been serving their communities ever since.

It’s been another busy period for NSW SES volunteers on the Mid North Coast with two major storms impacting the region over the last month resulting in over 242 calls for emergency assistance.

The SES recently launched its new volunteering initiative called “Volunteering Reimagined”.

The aim of the new approach is to provide more flexibility and options for people wanting to help their communities during storms, floods and other emergencies.

For more information on volunteering with the NSW SES visit the website www.ses.nsw.gov.au