Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise today to congratulate an exceptional volunteer in my local community, Terry Semmens. Terry is a local surf lifesaver at the Moana Surf Lifesaving Club. I was lucky enough to attend a presentation at the Moana Surf Lifesaving Club the other night. This was a very special night for Terry because he received an award for completing 1,000 patrol hours. Completing 1,000 hours of community service is a huge milestone for any volunteer. In fact, to be technical, we must acknowledge that he has done 1,026 hours at the surf lifesaving club.

Terry lives with his family in Seaford. He is a bus driver by day, but on the weekends he is always out there on the beach ensuring the Moana beach is safe for people to attend. I spoke to him and he was very moved by this award. He is someone who does not like to boast and talk about his achievements. This was certainly an achievement that everyone else wanted to talk about because it was such a good achievement. He stated that he has found the experience incredibly enjoyable and rewarding and that it has been a great place to meet good mates. The club secretary, Pat Whiting, has also said that Terry has had a great involvement in motivating the younger generation to join the surf lifesaving club. In fact, Terry has been a great role model to these local people. He always encourages people to be involved and that is a critical point of his nature. He served as club captain at the surf lifesaving club and both his sons have also been members. Pat Whiting also said that the club has benefited from his enormous knowledge of the area and of surf lifesaving. I think Terry is one of the many people out there who dedicate so much time volunteering in our local communities.

My local electorate of Kingston has five surf lifesaving clubs, all of which I attend regularly. The contribution and the amount hours that these people spend sitting, standing and patrolling the beach is just enormous and I congratulate them.

Terry is the sixth person at the Moana Surf Lifesaving Club to reach 1,000 hours. It is a huge milestone and I commend him greatly for this.