HE was just 17 years old and still at high school when he joined the Queanbeyan branch, but his enthusiasm for the job and strong sense of community spirit has seen him named the NSW SES' Young Volunteer of the Year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now a grizzled veteran of the SES and just 22 years of age, Crestwood man Brent Hunter has served with the emergency services at natural disasters across the state, including the major Queanbeyan floods of 2010.
Mr Hunter made the trip up to Sydney on Tuesday, supported by mum Margaret and nan Esma, and received the award from Emergency Services Minister Stuart Ayres at a small ceremony at NSW Parliament House that night.
"It's pretty exciting. We don't usually do it for awards, but it's always nice to get one," he said.
"We got a private tour of Parliament House with John Barilaro and went up through the building and looked at the offices and he told us about the history of the building."
Brent's SES career began in dramatic fashion, with the major Queanbeyan Floods of December 2010 arriving just after he'd finished his initial training.
"It was pretty exciting for a new SES member to be part of. We started training in July 2009, and then by December it [the flooding] was all starting to kick off.
"Even though I was the youngest member of the unit, everyone was really welcoming and I was just as involved as everyone else."
Now an established part of the team and working in the role of Operations Officer, Mr Hunter said he was surprised to receive a letter from the SES Commissioner.
"I got a letter from the commissioner, and it thought I was in trouble because I don't usually get letters from the commissioner.
"It said on the front 'Office of the Commissioner' and I thought 'oh no, what have I done.' But I opened it up and it was "congratulations, you've been selected...." It was a big relief!"
And he said it's the reward of providing a community service that drives his work with the SES.
"It's just the old thing of helping people in Queanbeyan, and it's always cool to do something different and exciting."
The Young Volunteer of the Year award could well be the start of a senior career with the SES for this local. Asked if he had any specific goals for his SES career, Brent laughed and said "Just write 'Commissioner'."
