By Mikayla van Loon
Lilydale SES celebrated the return of the training year on Monday 30 January with the acknowledgement of its valued unit members.
Not only marking the service of members, the unit also kicked off the 60th operational year for Lilydale SES which opened in 1963 as a unit of the Civil Defence Organisation.
Giving out internal awards on Monday night, there was a well deserved retirement honour, rescuer of the year, a leadership award and an achievement award for a member of the auxiliary.
Unit controller Shaun Caulfield said it’s a positive way to start the year of training ahead and recognise the work, dedication and leadership people showed in the year before.
“It’s partly a social interaction. Some of the members might only attend two or three Monday nights over the Christmas period, so it’s a good chance for people to reconnect and have a little bit of social connection with their colleagues,” he said.
“We put a nice positive spin by recognising people’s achievements and contributions from the previous year and then jump straight back into the ‘serious’ training from next week.”
Although the SES values each one of its volunteers, Mr Caulfield said the annual awards is a great way to say thank you to the people who gave a little bit extra or went unnoticed as a high achiever.
“We value all our members, of course but without having obvious displays of appreciation, then it’s easy for people to potentially feel undervalued.
“It’s always a good thing to both informally recognise contributions with positive commentary, but also, for those larger pieces to have a more formal recognition.”
Among this year’s award recipients was Clive Watkins who took home two awards and also stepped up to the rank of section leader of facilities.
The first award was the Colin Matheson ESM Rescuer of the Year Award which recognises commitment to supporting the unit and its members.
“It’s voted by his peers who recognise him as someone who’s provided a significant contribution to the development of the unit through dedication and skill,” Mr Caulfield said.
Mr Watkins also received the Ross Crawford Award as voted by the leadership team as a bit of a quiet achiever award.
“The Ross Crawford award is awarded by our management team, our officer group for someone who does a lot of things behind the scenes that don’t necessarily garner a lot of recognition.”
Fellow recipients of awards included Rookie of the Year, Colin Bowers, and the auxiliary Achievement Award went to Helen Falconer.
Although having retired from active duty, Mr Caulfield said Bob Mackay was honoured with the First and Second Clasp for the National Medal after 26 years of service.
Before joining the SES Mr Mackay completed years of service with the ADF, which saw him serve in the Vietnam War, adding up to a total of 40 years service.
“He held several positions in our management team, he was a deputy controller and he finished his time with us as what’s called our rescue officer.
“So he was in charge of looking after making sure our members have the right skills and techniques to make sure we’re able to operate at that peak of our abilities and have all the right skills when we go out on the job.”
Mr Caulfield said during Mr Mackay’s active service, he held positions of management for at least 15 of his 26 years as a member of the unit and “he spent a large portion of that as one of our senior and more respected members”.
The celebrations for Lilydale SES are most likely set to continue later in the year to recognise the 60 year anniversary of the unit.
