Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Whilst I knew Joan Vogels in our community quite well, I had no idea when I joined the Carols by Candlelight choir with Joan some 15 years ago that she had such an involvement in the Guiding movement in Australia. Joan Vogels, Pakenham resident, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM, for her services to youth through the Guiding movement. She joined Guides as a child in 1947, three years before I was born, and was a Brownie and a Girl Guide leader in Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne from 1954 to 1974. But that is not all. Her involvement in the wider community includes being a member of the Probus Club of Pakenham since 1997, a member of the Pakenham East Probus Club and inaugural president since 2006, a Cardinia Shire Australia Day Committee member, a one-time Secretary of the Yakkerboo Festival Committee and a Pakenham Uniting Church elder since 1995.

Joan jokes that she must have had 'yes' tattooed on her forehead. Graciously, she insists that she cannot take full credit for any of her achievements. 'Nobody does anything alone,' she says. 'I am getting this award, but an awful lot of people have been involved with me.' And then she said, 'You get more out than you put in.' Through her service, she has a great circle of friends that she has met. Joan Vogels—singer extraordinaire. But, more importantly, her commitment to young women through the Guiding movement has been something to behold and she should be greatly congratulated. What a marvellous award for Joan Vogels OAM.

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