Volunteering brings satisfaction

For Stawell couple Ian and Margaret Taylor, volunteering is second nature.

Despite approaching their 80th birthdays, they continue to be involved in a host of community groups and projects.

“It’s what we’ve always done,” Mr Taylor said.

“My dad was a member of the shire council and the school council, and I think we both take our values from our parents.”

As a result of the values instilled by their parents, both Mr and Mrs Taylor were awarded Medals of the Order of Australia.

The pair said news of the awards overwhelmed them.

“I had a mini heart-attack,” Mrs Taylor said.

Mr Taylor agreed shock.

“When I got the notification I had been nominated I thought, ‘I don’t think it should be me, I think it should be her’.

“Then I found out she’d been nominated too.”

Mr Taylor is a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels, a projectionist at his local town hall, and a former member of the Stawell Young Farmers and Progress associations. it had been a

He served as president and treasurer of the Stawell Lions Club, was president of the Stawell Technical School council and was captain of the Callawadda Rural Country Fire Authority.

Mrs Taylor was a founding member and is the current head coach of Stawell Riding for the Disabled, volunteered at Stawell’s Eventide retirement home, was a Gold Reef Ladies Probus Club member and a leader for the Marnoo Girl Guides.

The Taylors are both heavily involved in the Stawell Uniting Church community.

Each week Mr Taylor puts recordings of church services on DVDS and USB devices and takes them to members of the community unable to attend church, as part of a home ministry service.

He has edited the church’s newsletter since 2014 and helps maintain the church garden.

Mrs Taylor is a church elder and also contributes to the newsletter and garden.

She said volunteering gave her an immense sense of satisfaction.

“At Riding for the Disabled we had a little boy who never spoke,” she said.

“We had a few soft animal toys and we asked him which one he would like to carry with him when he rode, thinking he would just point at the one he wanted. “Then he said ‘elephant’. “The next week he said it a little more clearly, and then the week after that we asked his mum to come walk alongside him when he rode so she could hear him speak. “We were all crying after that.” The Taylors have been married for more than 50 years, but said volunteering kept them close.

“You support each other and you back each other up,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’re both nearly 80, but we are lucky we can still be active in the community physically.”

Mrs Taylor said the couple initially thought they were undeserving of OAM awards, but were both pleased to have made a positive impact on their community.

“We thought if someone had gone to the trouble of nominating us, if we turn it down what will they think?” she said.

“The nomination has been very nice, because it reminds us of what we have done throughout our lives.”