IN PICTURES: Dedication of Great Southern volunteers recognised at annual Volunteer of the Year Awards
The hard work and compassion of the Great Southern's volunteers was brought under the spotlight at the Albany Entertainment Centre on Thursday night with the annual Volunteer of the Year Awards.
Albany State Emergency Service volunteer Ben Whittle took home the coveted Volunteer of the Year honour for his work helping residents and visitors to the Great Southern in emergency situations including bushfires, floods and rescues.
The Albany Historic Whaling Station won the Volunteer Organisation of the Year award for their dedication to creating a space for volunteers to help keep Albany's whaling heritage alive.
The Singability Choir opened the event with songs relating to the theme of volunteering and connecting communities, the audience sang and clapped along.
Musical breaks from The Offsiders, and Laurie Smithers kept guests entertained all night between presentations, speeches, and awards.
City of Albany mayor Greg Stocks addressed the gathered crowd, recalling times during his stint in local government when he had seen the Great Southern community come together to help or support someone in need.
Co-founder of Albany Community Foundation and director of Merrifield Real Estate Jeremy Stewart took the stage as a guest speaker, sharing anecdotes from his time with the foundation.
'Never underestimate the impact you can have simply by showing up... your time and your heart do more good than you know,' he said.
City of Albany's Kore Ford also spoke to the group, talking about their experience as a young volunteer.
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Albany State Emergency Service volunteer Ben Whittle takes out Great Southern Volunteer of the Year Award
Albany SES volunteer Ben Whittle has won the top award at the Great Southern's Volunteer of the Year Awards with a range of community organisations and individuals recognised on the night. The annual awards recognise the work of volunteers across the region in a myriad of capacities, from the Albany Returned Services League to the Cancer Council, and from the emergency services to arts and radio. Mr Whittle, who accepted his Great Southern volunteer of the year award at a ceremony at Albany Entertainment Centre last Thursday, said he was proud to serve his community as an emergency services volunteer. 'It was good to get the acknowledgement more than anything, we're definitely kept busy and we do a hard job sometimes, so it's nice to be nominated and to be recognised by the community,' he said. 'There's always a new challenge and a new adventure with the SES, and I love a challenge, so I've loved my time volunteering with them and I'm planning on sticking around for a fair while yet. 'Volunteering is always an incredibly rewarding way to give back to the community, and there's a role out there for everyone, whether that's with us, we're always after even caterers and communications operators and that sort of thing, or elsewhere, there's so many different volunteer associations out there that there'll be something for everyone to do.' Mr Whittle won the coveted award out of a field of more than 10 nominees, including two other finalists: Cancer Council's Debby Davies and Albany RSL's Stephen Edmonds. The second major award of the night was the volunteer organisation of the year, which was awarded to Albany Historic Whaling Station. Managers Jen Bane and Alice Ackley received the award on the organisation's behalf with Ms Ackley acknowledging all the hard working volunteers in the room on the night and thanking all the organisation's supporters and volunteers. 'We're very honoured to be accepting this award tonight,' she said. 'We have some of our fabulous volunteers here who, each and every day, helped bring the story of our site. 'We offer such a wealth of experience to visitors of all backgrounds, and it's through our volunteers that this experience is just brought to a whole new level. 'Working 365 days a year, we've got a fabulous team that undertake our maintenance, greeting guests, welcoming people to site, looking after our plans and our wildlife, we're just so proud and honoured to have them as part of our team, and just delighted to be here tonight.' The four other nominees were Soroptimist International of Albany, Great Southern FM radio, RSLWA Albany branch and the Albany Over 50s Recreation Association.
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IN PICTURES: Dedication of Great Southern volunteers recognised at annual Volunteer of the Year Awards
The hard work and compassion of the Great Southern's volunteers was brought under the spotlight at the Albany Entertainment Centre on Thursday night with the annual Volunteer of the Year Awards. Albany State Emergency Service volunteer Ben Whittle took home the coveted Volunteer of the Year honour for his work helping residents and visitors to the Great Southern in emergency situations including bushfires, floods and rescues. The Albany Historic Whaling Station won the Volunteer Organisation of the Year award for their dedication to creating a space for volunteers to help keep Albany's whaling heritage alive. The Singability Choir opened the event with songs relating to the theme of volunteering and connecting communities, the audience sang and clapped along. Musical breaks from The Offsiders, and Laurie Smithers kept guests entertained all night between presentations, speeches, and awards. City of Albany mayor Greg Stocks addressed the gathered crowd, recalling times during his stint in local government when he had seen the Great Southern community come together to help or support someone in need. Co-founder of Albany Community Foundation and director of Merrifield Real Estate Jeremy Stewart took the stage as a guest speaker, sharing anecdotes from his time with the foundation. 'Never underestimate the impact you can have simply by showing up... your time and your heart do more good than you know,' he said. City of Albany's Kore Ford also spoke to the group, talking about their experience as a young volunteer.
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Hit the high notes in quick time as registrations set to close for About FACE Kids' annual choral music camp
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