Mid North Coast 2014 VOYA

Overall Winner – 2014 Volunteer of the Year  Mid North Coast region

Geoff Bond of Port Macquarie who volunteers with Frontier Services – Outback Links.

Collected on behalf of Geoff Bond

Geoff has volunteered consistently for 9 years with Outback Links, a volunteer program within the Frontier Services organisation that reaches out to remote communities of Australia. He has travelled vast distances across NSW and Australia to volunteer his time and skills for people living on outback stations, facing extremes such as temperature, weather, isolation and cultural differences. To date, Geoff has volunteered at 17 placements across Australia, including 7 in NSW.

In particular, he helps those struggling after a natural disaster, those unable to work due to illness or lends a hand to people struggling with the day-to-day hardship of managing a station, homestead as well as children?s home-schooling commitments. Geoff has fixed fences, put in gardens, helped with mustering, and lent a listening ear to farmers trying to overcome adversity. For example, Geoff helped a farmer at risk of suicide in far west NSW, where Geoff travelled 700kms to assist the family. He helped to relieve the pressure they were facing by providing practical and emotional support. Geoff has a positive, uplifting attitude and breadth of life experience which has enabled him to help in situations which require considerable practical, emotional, and mental skills.

2014 Youth Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Gregory Spies of Coffs Harbour who volunteers with Northcott family farm.

Gregory Spies

Gregory has been a dedicated volunteer at the Northcott family farm for the past 3 years. He always does what is asked of him, and learns how to do it, if it’s something he can’t do on his own. He does a variety of tasks at the farm including fixing fences, herding cattle, pulling out fire weed, and more. The work he does allows the beef from the cows to be sold direct from farm to people, for freezing and eating, at a lower price than the shops in the region. This helps to support local business and the community.

2014 Adult Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Phoebe Crane of Port Macquarie who volunteers with Lifeline Mid Coast.

Phoebe Crane

Phoebe is both a Telephone Crisis Supporter and an In-Shift Supervisor for Lifeline Mid Coast. Through her work as a Telephone Crisis Supporter, Phoebe delivers crisis support and suicide prevention services on the Lifeline Crisis Line. Every minute Phoebe spends on the phone, she is saving lives. As an In-Shift Supervisor, Phoebe is responsible for providing information and help to the Telephone Crisis Support team during severe crisis calls. In addition to her work with Lifeline, Phoebe is the home visit coordinator for Mid North Coast Refugee Support group. She also previously volunteered with For Australia Wildlife Needing Aid (FAWNA) as a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator, while also running Pug Rescue Charity.

2014 Senior Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Geoff Bond of Port Macquarie who volunteers with Frontier Services – Outback Links.

Please see Overall Winner for description.

2014 Volunteer Team of the Year

Winner: Andrew Farr and the thirty three volunteers who make up the Great Lakes FM team, from Foster-Tuncurry.

Andrew Farr on behalf of FM team

Great Lakes FM operates a volunteer community radio station that provides a mix of news, music and community information while engaging with and supporting the local community. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and streams online. The team works to provide a range of diverse programs that cater to as wide a section of the local community as possible. They have worked to assess local needs and interests in order to have programing such as the Good Health Program, and well informed community announcements about events and activities.

Honour Roll of Nominees

2014 Adult Volunteer of the Year

• Lyn Bagster of Tamworth who volunteers with Camp Quaility.
• Scott Balmer of Wauchope who volunteers with Wauchope 2nd Scout Group.
• Phoebe Crane of Port Macquarie who volunteers with Lifeline Mid Coast.
• Fiona Hulbert of Toormina who volunteers with Toormina Public School.
• Michelle Kirkwood of Kendall who volunteers with Surf Life Saving MNC.
• Heather Lattimore of Wauchope who volunteers with Wauchope 2nd Scout Group.
• Pam Morris of Port Macquarie who volunteers with Family Drug Support.
• Joanne Watts of Crescent Head who volunteers with Crescent Head Lions Club.
• Susan Wilson of Emerald Beach who volunteers with Northern Beaches Neighbour Aid.

2014 Senior Volunteer of the Year

• Jennifer Lock of Sawtell who volunteers with Cancer Council NSW.
• Mary McLaren of Port Macquarie who volunteers with Port Macquarie Lions club.

2014 Volunteer Team of the Year

• Jane Ireland and the fourteen volunteers who make up the Jetty Dunecare Group team, Coffs Harbour.
• Paul Rayner and the eight volunteers who make up the Surf Life Saving Mid North Coast Support Operation Team. The team supports eight (8) surf lifesaving clubs including Macksville-Scotts Head, South West Rocks, Hat Head, Kempsey- Crescent Head, Port Macquarie, Tacking Point, Wauchope Bonny Hills and Camden Haven.
• Jackianne Wright and the five volunteers who make up the Port Macquarie Branch RSPCA NSW team.