By Matthew Pearce
Kershaw Gardens was a sea of orange this week as local SES volunteers celebrated Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW Day), as part of National Volunteer Week.
Capabilities officers Geoff Honnery and Adam Murrell were manning the barbecue at the sausage sizzle.
Geoff, who is also group leader at the Yaamba SES, said he first became a volunteer after the 2011 floods.
“I was thinking about it for quite a few years before then, but that flood got me off my backside to have a go, and I love it,” he said.
Geoff’s work with the SES has taken him out west and north to Mackay.
He said the service was in need of fresh blood, saying many people were under the misconception that joining the SES was a huge time commitment.
“We don’t hassle people to come out and do a job, it’s just one little message, and you text back yes or no,” he said.
Adam, who is also the deputy local controller for Livingstone, said he had been looking for volunteer work and the SES had been an attractive option.
“The SES is pretty much my life at the moment, it’s very rewarding,” he said.
Local SES controller Eddie Cowie joined the SES at age 16 and has been a “career volunteer” since then.
He said Wear Orange Wednesday was an important opportunity to acknowledge the 45,000 SES volunteers Australia-wide, including the 900 volunteers and 68 groups across the Central Region’s 40 local government areas.
“SES volunteering is a bit different to the average volunteering that you might see in the community… we’re certainly well equipped, well trained and professional in a lot of the things that we do within our community safety role.
“The SES are the first responders to road crashes and rescues, and certainly you see us very heavily involved in floods and cyclones and storms but what you don’t see is the SES volunteers behind the scenes who are out there every day identifying risks locally and undertaking community education.”
Mr Cowie said SES volunteers had to be fit and healthy and pass a criminal history check and Blue Card check.
“We understand that not everybody is as able-bodied as others and will endeavour to find a position that suits your own abilities.”
Regional director Andrew Wyatt said there were various reasons why people volunteered with the SES.
“A lot of people just want to give back to the community,” he said.
“We’ve had volunteers who’ve been in the service for over 40 years and they’ve established really strong friendships.
“We provide all their training for free, all of their equipment for free. All the skills that they learn in the SES, they’re able to take forward and use in their workplace and generally help their self development.
“While there’s activities occurring every day, people can give as much or as little as they can… most of our group train on a weekly basis, which is just one or two hours a week.”
Rockhampton Region Mayor Tony Williams, who works closely with the SES in his role as Local Disaster Management Group chair, said WOW Day was a chance to show SES volunteers some well deserved appreciation.
“There’s so much the SES does every year, not just in times of natural disasters or emergencies but with things like traffic control during Anzac Day for example.
“In these times when we don’t have activations it’s important to keep up the momentum because before too long we’ll be calling on their services again.”
For more information volunteering, go to qfes.qld.gov.au/join-our-team/ses/state-emergency-service-volunteer