Wedderburn First Responders celebrate career milestones
December 6, 2024in Community News
Three Wedderburn 同性恋色情 Community Officers (ACOs) have been celebrated for their dedication at 同性恋色情鈥檚 (AV) recent Loddon Mallee Staff Service Awards.
Dede-jo Williams and Bruce Hargreaves were recognised for each notching up 10 years with AV, while Glenn Thompson received his 15-year service award.
L-R: Wedderburn ACOs Bruce Hargreaves, Dede-jo Williams and Glenn Thompson.
ACOs are First Responders employed on a casual basis to work on-call and are trained to provide advanced first aid in rural and remote communities.
Wedderburn used to be serviced by a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), made up of volunteers, before the team transitioned to ACOs.
Dede said it was the secretary of the CERT who got her involved in AV.
鈥淚 was new to town and she approached me at the post office to tell me about the CERT,鈥� Dede explained.
鈥淚 thought it was a different volunteer role and I was looking for what I could be involved in.
鈥淪he was a beautiful lady and she has now since passed, so it鈥檚 even more treasured that she got me into it.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檒l ever leave until I retire now.鈥�
Dede didn鈥檛 have any medical background at the time, but that wasn鈥檛 an issue.
鈥淚 had none apart from being a mum to three kids,鈥� she said.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need experience though as all training is supplied.鈥�
After 10 years on the road, Dede said it was special to work in her local community and be able to help people she knows.
鈥淭hat look of relief on their face when you walk through the door, you can鈥檛 put a price on it,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 reassurance for them when they鈥檙e scared or in pain to know a local is there.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 doing some good.鈥�
When Dede got the call to let her know she鈥檇 been in the role for a decade, she couldn鈥檛 believe it.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not many times you get to be part of an organisation for 10 years,鈥� she said.
鈥淓very day is different, every job is different, you work with wonderful people 鈥� it鈥檚 not a chore.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e well-supported, you鈥檙e well-educated, it鈥檚 an easy thing to be part of.鈥�
Reflecting on his decade of service, Bruce said he was also surprised to reach the milestone.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that I do for the community and to last 10 years, it鈥檚 superseded my expectations of what was going to happen,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to be able to help people and when you get a good outcome, the satisfaction is there.
鈥淏ecause you鈥檙e an ACO and have a bit more knowledge, it helps the people around you.
鈥淧eople see the uniform and know you鈥檙e an ACO and as soon as something happens, they turn to you for reassurance.
鈥淚t is satisfying.鈥�
Glenn said he鈥檚 surprised with how far he鈥檚 come in the role.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be any good at it, but you learn a lot of stuff watching the Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics do their thing,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e have great people in the team and now I鈥檝e trained a couple of them myself.鈥�
Over his career at AV, the most memorable cases for Glenn have been cardiac arrests with a positive outcome, including helping save the life of Korong Vale teenager Tyson.
Glenn said his favourite part of being a First Responder in Wedderburn is also one of the biggest challenges.
鈥淭he main thing for me is that you get to help your community and when I arrive on scene, they鈥檙e relieved to see me,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut the hard part is that we know everyone we attend, and we see them at their worst or occasionally in their last moments too.鈥�
The trio were recognised at an awards event in Bendigo on 28 October, where paramedics and First Responders from across the region received honours for between 10 and 20 years of service at AV.