WHY MY MUM IS SPECIAL
THIS Mother’s Day, Geelong mum Lisa Keys might not be at the dinner table with her beloved family.
The State Emergency Service South Barwon unit controller could instead be rescuing people from a car or helping co-ordinate a disaster response.
Mrs Keys was first inspired to join the SES six years ago when her now 25-year-old son Brayden was a teenager wanting to get involved in the community. While Brayden’s busy life meant he soon stopped volunteering at the service, Mrs Keys’ commitment continued.
“I stuck with it,” Mrs Keys said. “I just loved it. I love what the SES do, the new skills I have and I love the community feel about the organisation.
“It’s great going to bed every night knowing that you’ve made a difference.”
Mrs Keys, who runs an insurance business with husband Jamie, said prior to joining the SES she never would have thought she had the ability to work as a first responder.
“If you had said 15 years ago that I’d be the unit controller of South Barwon, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Mrs Keys said. “You don’t need any (pre-existing) skills, they provide all the training that you need. I’ve gone from not knowing how to change a tyre to commanding rescue events in six years.”
Mrs Keys said the previously maledominated field now had a number of women working in high-profile roles, with the 2020 South Barwon management team consisting entirely of women.
“The service really supports women and they see a capable person — not a man or a woman,” she said.
But Mrs Keys said the impact of the job on the families of first responders should not be ignored.
“I couldn’t have done it without a supportive family. My kids love what I do and my husband loves what I do,” she said.
“It does affect them and it needs to be highlighted because there are times that there is an empty place at a table because I have to run out because the pager has gone off.
“We can’t really do what we do without the support of our families.”
Mrs Keys said some of the most significant jobs she has attended included the Waurn Ponds tornado in 2020 and a deployment to Canberra during the ACT fires.
Mrs Keys will spend Mother’s Day with Brayden and 23-year-old daughter Ashlee, unless she is called to respond to an emergency.