Volunteering Minister Stephen Dawson has paid tribute to this year's worthy recipients of Western Australian Volunteer Service Awards.
The awards recognise Western Australian volunteers who have provided 25 or more years of service with a single organisation.
The McGowan Government thanks each and every volunteer across WA for the vital and selfless role they play in ensuring our communities thrive.
This year, 173 deserving individuals have been recognised for their significant voluntary contribution to the community across a wide range of areas.
Of these award recipients, 19 volunteers were recognised for over 50 years of service, including:
- Lorraine Malcolm, who has been involved with Softball WA since 1966. Lorraine was statistician for the State Senior Women's softball team, State Director of scoring and established modball and tee-ball in WA in the 1970s;
- Laurence 'Danny' Harris, who has been a committed and valued member of the Australian Red Cross in Dardanup for over 50 years, providing community support and leading a group of strong volunteers, originally supporting blood bank collection;
- Irene Morcombe, who joined the (then) Armadale-Kelmscott Wildflower Society (now known as the Wildflower Society of Western Australia - Armadale Branch) a few months after it was formed in 1961. Irene has held various positions including secretary, treasurer, committee member and joint branch patron;
- Kim Fletcher and Patricia Bona, who are valued and active members of the Roleystone Theatre, being involved in all aspects both on and off stage; and
- Rod Blyth, who joined the Bush Fire Service as an 18-year-old in 1970 and has served as a firefighter, equipment officer, and secretary for both Bodallin and Chidlow Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades.
As stated by Volunteering Minister Stephen Dawson:
"Western Australia's volunteers are some of the State's greatest heroes and are major assets to the WA community.
"I thank Lorraine, Danny, Irene, Kim, Patricia, and Rod for their incredible long service, and their endearing and selfless work encapsulates what volunteering is all about.
"Their years of service have been of great benefit to sport, community services, the environment, the arts sector and emergency services.
"I also congratulate all those Western Australian volunteers who have been recognised for 25 years or more of service.
"Volunteering brings out the best in people and helps build strong, resilient communities. On behalf of the McGowan Government, I congratulate all of the Volunteer Service Awards recipients for 2022."
