SES Awards 2018
An inspiring young SES volunteer who made history as the first woman to design and implement a new SES badge for Scouts has taken out the Youth Achievement Award.
The 2018 SES award winners were announced at the inaugural Fire and Emergency Services Awards Ceremony held in Perth on Friday night. Volunteers from across the State were acknowledged for their work on the frontline during emergencies and maintaining the high level of training and capability of the SES.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM presented the awards to the recipients and commended them on their dedication.
“It has been a busy 12 months for our heroes in orange attending over 630 incidents and committing almost 22,000 hours to cyclones, land searches, rescues, fires and storm damage recovery,” Commissioner Klemm said.
“SES volunteers are often first on scene during emergencies, and these awards are an important part of thanking individuals and units for their hard work and dedication to protecting the community.
“All of our SES volunteers are highly respected and admired and I congratulate all of them for their services in keeping the people of WA safe.”
Wanneroo Joondalup SES Training Manager Stephen Faulkner was awarded the Peter Keillor Award for his exceptional commitment to SES Cadets, encouraging the next generation of volunteers and ensuring they’re well prepared for any emergency.
The Team Achievement Award was presented to volunteers from Bayswater, Swan, Kalamunda, Gosnells and Stirling who banded together to compete in the National Disaster Rescue Challenge which put their technical and team work skills to the test.
The 2018 SES Award winners were presented across three categories:
Peter Keillor Award
Stephen Faulkner – Wanneroo Joondalup SES
Since the inception of the Emergency Service Cadet Corp Unit in 1996, Steve has been the SES Liaison Officer. He has been involved in almost every camp and has used his skills, knowledge and access to equipment to further enhance the cadets’ experience and expand their skill set. In 2017 he became a fulltime cadet instructor taking on the role of the Chief Instructor, and is an outstanding representative for the SES cadet unit, and for the core values an instructor should possess.
Team Achievement Award
National Disaster Rescue Challenge 2017 – WA SES Team
The SES Volunteers Association coordinated a team from Western Australia to participate in the SES National Disaster Rescue Challenge held in Hobart. The team was made up of 10 SES Volunteers from five Perth metropolitan SES units including Bayswater, Swan, Kalamunda, Gosnells and Stirling. The team was exposed to eight rescue scenarios which tested leadership, teamwork, tenacity and the core skills of SES first responders.
Youth Achievement Award
Sarah Hamilton – Belmont/Victoria Park SES
Sarah is already a dedicated volunteer with both Hampton Park Scout Group (Scout Leader) and Belmont SES (Team Leader). Sarah’s own initiative, motivated by her desire to encourage others to positively experience the two volunteer organisations she loves, led her to create an SES badge for Scouts. Sarah’s coordination and engagement of stakeholders within Scouts WA, SES, DFES and SES Volunteers Association over two years, totalling hundreds of volunteer hours, were key to the development of this badge – this is a significant individual effort which was undertaken in addition to her current volunteer commitments and duties.
