Local volunteers recognised with national medal

The National Emergency Medal is awarded for sustained or significant service during nationally-significant emergencies in Australia and must be approved by the Governor General.

Eurobodalla-locals Miriam McGregor, Megan Fraser, Beverley and Ronald Dent, Robyn Edgar, Marilyn Edwards, Ricci and Steven Bishop, Elizabeth Farnsworth, Jane Martin, Jacklyn Roque, and Linda Barnes were all awarded the Medal for their work in the evacuation and recovery centres during 2019 and 2020.

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Red Cross regional emergency services officer Jason Hough said the awards were a welcome surprise and celebrated the tremendous effort of the volunteers in a time of great community-need.

"[The volunteers] never seek or expect such acknowledgement," he said. "They simply volunteer because they genuinely want to help those in need."

Each of the medal-winners committed to volunteering far beyond the hours they had originally intended during the crisis, and Mr Hough said this effort had continued throughout the COVID pandemic. Currently the Red Cross has local members deployed in the Far North Coast of NSW helping with flood recovery.

Mr Hough said the Red Cross was recruiting community members interested in joining the emergency services team to help build community resilience to withstand future emergencies. Volunteers contribute to running the emergency preparedness program RediPlan, leading community-led resilience team projects, engaging school children through the 'PillowCase' preparedness course and providing psychological first aid in evacuation centres.

If you would like to learn more about joining a team, please contact Mr Hough on 0407 160 939.