Alison’s worthy award
SEEING the devastation after Cyclone Yasi prompted Alison Maclean to don the bright orange State Emergency Service uniform.
After witnessing the multibilliondollar destruction of the category five cyclone, Ms Maclean joined the Townsville SES in 2011 with the intention of helping others.
“I thought it would be a good way of helping the community,” she said.
“It’s a bit satisfying and quite rewarding ( being able to help).”
Ms Maclean said some of her more memorable deployments included the Bundaberg floods in 2013 and helping find two young boys at Wulguru in 2015.
She said when returning from emergencies, she goes through “many conflicting emotions”.
“Sometimes you feel quite overwhelmed by what people had to say,” she said. “But mostly I am happy that in some small way I have been able to help.”
This mix of emotions was brought to light during Cyclone Debbie last year, which flooded populous areas of southeast Queensland and northern NSW.
Ms Maclean was deployed to help with the clean- up.
“That was very sad because a lot of people lost everything,” she said.
“A lot of the public helped out, it was a tough one.”
Ms Maclean, who works in an office when not at an emergency, has risen in the ranks and is now a trainer for the voluntary service.
She recently returned from a training deployment to Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
“I train in what I call the ‘ bread and butter stuff’: storm recovery, heights and general rescue,” she said. “I’m quite a short person, so I like being up high.
“I’ve been a trainer for probably four years.”
Ms Maclean recently won the Joyce Scorey Shield for Queensland SES Trainer of the Year. Ms Scorey was the unit controller of the Townsville Unit when Ms Maclean joined but died of cancer on December 23 last year.
SES volunteers fondly remember Ms Scorey as being a hard working leader, who achieved many goals throughout her service. “She was a very amazing woman who forged the way,” Ms Maclean said.
“She was the first woman to do many things in the SES.”
Ms Maclean felt honoured to win the award dedicated to the former Townsville local controller.