Award for community man
WHEN Robert Kretchmann was a young man, his mother, and others, gave him a sound piece of advice.
“You only get out of organisations what you put in,” they told him.
Now, after a lifetime of community service, the East Toowoomba resident has been recognised with one of the country’s highest honours – and Order of Australia Medal.
“I’m very honoured to be nominated for the award,” Mr Kretchmann said, admitting the news came as “a bit of a shock”.
“There are probably a lot of other people out there that are just as worthwhile.”
Mr Kretchmann’s first foray into community service organisations was with Apex in 1962 – of which he was a member until he hit the club’s retirement age of 40.
A few years later he joined the Rotary Club of Toowoomba South, which he served with until 2012.
He is still a member of the Darling Downs Order of St John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities.
Mr Kretchmann has also been heavily involved in Toowoomba and Queensland’s swimming organisations.
But through it all, Mr Kretchmann said his most satisfying achievement was the Bowel Scan Committee, a role that also saved his life.
“We used to sell Bowel Scan kits for $3 to the general public,” he explained.
“We used to send 10,000 in a good year. So that saved a few people’s lives, including mine. I had bowel cancer and picked it up, so I’m still here to say it works.”