From the SESVA President
Greg Cook – President SESVA
Respect, Dedication, Community Support. Hi to you in what has been, and will continue to be, a very operational period for the SES. The SES Volunteers have responded to the needs of communities in the MidWest/Gascoyne region caused by Cyclone Seroja.
I choose the title of my article to reflect the holistic effort from you all. All means “you, your family, your friends, your unit members, your employers and your own community” and they all need to be thanked for a state-wide team effort.
Please also, to all those SES members that could or did not go, their support within their units to ensure the gaps are filled during deployment absences must also not go unrecognised or forgotten. What ever happens, the home town(s) business needs to continue.
Whilst I am aware of some of the preliminary community feedback from the MidWest/Gascoyne, more details will be gleaned in the near future. So, your collective efforts, along with our interstate SES colleagues, is highly valued by the communities we responded to. We do need to respect that many people have and will continue to help themselves in times of emergency.
The Association also wishes to truly recognise the combined response and efforts of all the services that stood beside us during the response. Whether they are Incident Command Teams, Fire, Marine, Military, Administration and other critical government agencies, it requires a great team in these circumstances to manage the stress and strain of the residents. I say thank you to you all.
It gives a greater importance to Wear Orange Wednesday or as we call it WOW Day this year.
I sincerely hope that we can open our doors and recognise how truly amazing you are. I am certain the community would love to celebrate with you.
At this time, I also add that “Lest We Forget”. Whilst ANZAC Day has now passed, I know many of us would have reflected on sacrifice. Together we stand.
My best wishes to you all, thank you.
