By Tyler Wright
On Sunday 17 July, A pair of volunteers from Kallista-The Patch Fire Brigade were acknowledged as part of the CFA’S 2022 Spirit of CFA Awards in Ballarat.
Long serving member Ralph Ross was named the winner of this year’s Seniors Award, which pays tribute to CFA members ‘over the age of 60 who inspire and mentor others through their commitment to their brigade and community. ‘
The recipient of the award is also heralded for consistently demonstrating collaboration, initiative, and leadership.
“I was overwhelmed, because when I got the email to say ‘you are one of the finalists,’ I didn’t expect that; I didn’t actually expect to get into the finals to be honest,” Ralph said.
“[I’m] pretty chuffed actually – [it’s] pretty humbling.”
Ralph made the trip to Ballarat to receive the award and was joined by CFA members; both individuals and teams awarded for their work in areas including community engagement and innovation, alongside his wife Carol.
Ralph initially joined the CFA as volunteer at the Upwey Fire Brigade 43 years ago and had genuine basic skills and training instilled in him throughout his early years of involvement in the CFA.
“Captain Peter Marke and Peter Hall were really full on about doing skills maintenance and training, even in the early days,” Ralph said.
“I was at Upwey for about seven or eight years, and then we brought at Kallista.
Kallista were having a roadside collection and I met the [Kallista-The Patch] captain. He said ‘we’ve been waiting for you’; and I’ve been at Kallista ever since for 30 odd years.”
In his time at the Kallista-The Patch Fire Brigade Ralph has held various lieutenant positions, and is now both president of the brigade and group communications officer.
“We normally we would have 25 to 30 operational members [and] a total of about 50 operational and support members. It’s a small community and just like a big family, really,” Ralph said.
Luke Tyler-Maclean, a newer member of the Kallista-The Patch Fire Brigade was highly commended in the 2022 Youth Award category, which recognises the commitment of members aged between 11 years old and 25 years old.
While Luke could not attend the Ballarat ceremony, his fellow members celebrated his achievement at the brigade station on Wednesday July 20.
“It was a little surprising and very humbling,” Luke said of being notified of his commendation.
“I’m not a great with a person with awards, so it’s a little bit embarrassing, but it’s good to be recognized,” Luke said.
Both Luke and Ralph were nominated for their respective youth and seniors award categories by Kallista-The Patch Fire Brigade Captain Martin Noonan.
There were many nominations for the biennial awards which began in 2018.
CFA CEO Natalie MacDonald said she was pleased to be able to recognise those who have made a real difference to the organisation through their contributions.
“Hearing about the accomplishments of our nominees was tremendously humbling. Meeting and recognising our winners confirms the significance of CFA in the community and the principles we stand for,” Ms MacDonald said.
CFA Acting Chief Officer Gavin Thompson congratulated the recipients and finalists on their significant contributions and outstanding achievements.
“CFA is incredibly proud of its members, and it is great to see our members recognised for their contributions to both our organisation and local communities,” Mr Thompson said.
“Their dedication and effort are essential to assisting us in achieving our mission, which is to protect lives and property.”
