A joint effort was the key to success in engaging the wider community.
On 11 November, Barnawartha and Chiltern brigades came together to present the key messages around the topic 'Are your horses prepared to survive?'.
Part of the Fire Ready Victoria program, it was clear given the number of members within the local community with horses that this would be an ideal topic to deliver.
The people attending received an excellent presentation delivered by April Padbury as the FRV presenter and topped off by local vet Bob Fielding from the Equine Centre in Albury.
Twenty-eight members of the public attended and it was really pleasing to see that the make-up of the audience wasn't the usual suspects. Twenty-five of the 28 had no affiliation with Barnawartha or Chiltern brigades. This was fantastic especially as Barnawartha brigade had recently staged an FRV meeting and it was rewarding to have a whole new audience and pass on the key messages.
For those that don't know Bob Fielding, he is highly regarded with his work with horses and he really brought a powerful message that was well received. The table with our pamphlets was almost swept away with enthusiasm on the back of his and April's presentations.
I'd like to thank the effort put in by Will Vale from Chiltern brigade, who really had a crack at advertising this event. Using local radio stations and print media, we really did get into areas that we at Barnawartha haven't used before. The posting on our Facebook page, which was re-posted by some of the local riding clubs, helped to increase attendance and also generated a number of opportunities for follow up.
Also I'd like to thank some of our younger brigade members who helped dropping off pamphlets to targeted properties in the area. Whilst maybe not generating a larger attendance at the FRV meeting, it did give us yet another opportunity to engage with the local community.
Author: Geoffrey Barter