Ambo volunteers recognised

Volunteers in Newman have been rewarded for their public efforts with the local St John Ambulance centre named Community Organisation of the Year.

The Newman Sub Centre received the commendation from the Newman Chamber of Commerce, with an additional nod to the centre’s administration officer Isla Murphy who was nominated in the Customer Service of the Year category.

Community paramedic Chris Moore said it was fantastic for volunteers to be recognised for their generous commitment to providing the ambulance service, first-aid kits and first-aid training.

“It’s a fully volunteer funded station here — the award is greatly appreciated, it shows the volunteers are thought of highly in the community,” he said.

“We’re quite a busy station here with 800 call-outs last year.

“I think we have won the award based on merits of the volunteers and what they do for the community — and we do a lot of first-aid training here as well.”

Mr Moore said the centre was staffed by a roster of 32 volunteers for 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the additional mention for Ms Murphy was also well received.

“She’s a very approachable person and always willing to help out where needed to get the job done — she’s been in the job just over 12 months now,” he said.