Orana / Far West Regional Winners
Orana / Far West Region Volunteer of the Year
Bevin Brown of Lightning Ridge
Bevin Brown became a volunteer presenter with 89.7 Opal FM just two months after the station started in 1997. Just six months later he was station manager. In short, Bevin is a jack-of-all-trades. He opens it up in the morning, downloads programs from the satellite feed, trains presenters, presents and does the technical maintenance. He has fundraised for the best possible equipment and computers for the station, putting on a weekly barbecue with his wife, Ann. Programs presented on the station include four ethnic programs, international and national news and community notices.
Bevin's nominator, Glenys Marcus says: "Bevin knows that unless the work is done at the station it will cease transmission, which would be a really sad thing to happen to the community. "