The Bundaberg SES Unit has received the prestigious Commissioner’s Cup for 2021 as Unit of the Year for Queensland just one week after taking home the Regional Unit of the Year award.
The crew were honoured with the state-wide award due to their continuous development of diversity, inclusion and increasing the professional image of the organisation in the community..
The local organisation qualified for the Commissioners Cup after their success at the recent North Coast Region SES Week awards.
North Coast Region covers Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and the Sunshine Coast and inland to the North and South Burnett. SES North Coast operates with 48 groups, staffed by approximately 1000 volunteers.
Local controller Kieran Galey said the awards were a great example of how the Bundaberg unit worked together to help the region.
“This award means that, as a unit, we have performed well and our volunteers have shown commitment to their community,” he said.
“It feels really great to be announced as Regional Unit of the Year and is good recognition of what we do.”
Kieran said over the past 12 months, the 100-strong Bundaberg crew had been involved in a multitude of tasks within the local region and beyond.
“We have seen numerous deployments down to Border Operations as well as at Brisbane Airport to help with COVID,” he said.
“Our land search operations have been quite significant right across Queensland and a lot of our volunteers have assisted with floods in New South Wales.”
Kieran said back at home, the local unit had also been working on gaining more members from all walks of life.
“We have worked significantly over the past 12 month in diversity and inclusion,” he said.
“From all cultures, all religions and all backgrounds, we encourage as many people as possible to join our organisation.”
Kieran said as part of the SES Week Awards, 12 members of the Bundaberg SES Unit also received their National Emergency Medal for volunteer work during Cyclone Debbie and the North Queensland floods in 2019.
Related stories: Get ready for storm and cyclone season
