On Saturday 25 November, the Benalla Group held a women’s recruitment event at the Benalla Botanical Gardens.
The event was opened by Sally Matheson, who is a White Ribbon Advocate, in honour of White Ribbon Day.
Benalla Group Officer Jim Renkin spoke of the many inspirational women he has been associated with in the 20 rural brigades that make up the Benalla Group.
DGO Phil Rees organised the event, and organised for some local female members to give up their Saturday morning to discuss with women in the community why they should consider becoming a volunteer.
There was relaxed conversation between current and potential members and some of the topics discussed included:
- roles that are available for CFA members to take on
- training available to members
- different experiences of some of our current CFA members, and what they have gained by being a volunteer with CFA.
A firefighting demonstration was given by a number of the Benalla Group’s female operational members who used the Lurg tanker in a simulated grass and scrub fire response.
The group was extremely pleased with how the day went, and have gained three potential new female members as well as a possible interested junior member.
DGO Phil Rees will continue to work on improving female participation over the next couple of years and is off to a fantastic start with this recruitment and networking event.
Big thank you to Sally Matheson – White Ribbon Advocate - for attending and opening the event; Jim Renkin (Benalla Group Officer) and Di Simpson (D23 BASO) for their support and assistance; the Benalla Group for organising the event; the female volunteers who gave up their morning to assist the group; and District 23 office and the Volunteer Sustainability Team for their support.